Long Live
by noelle33
Summary: Live  dictionary definition  – to be alive; exist      Live  life definition  – Laughing and Crying, Friendship and Bravery, Family and Enemies, Listening and Telling, Beauty and Brilliance, War and Peace, Right and Wrong, Joy and Heartache, Life and Deah
1. A Little Duck and a Silly Love Song

**Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters, with a few minor exceptions, belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. There is also a song by Wings within this chapter called "Silly Love Songs". **

Sunlight shimmers across the vast room. It's a peaceful summer morning, the same as the day before. But today, it's different. Today, it is the first of September.

Reflecting off the window screen, light cascades across the face of a young girl. She stirs as the light reaches her eyes, finally awakening to the new day. The Day. It takes a few moments for her to gain her boundaries, but when she does, her bright blue eyes gleam in excitement. Hopping out of bed, she sprints to the bathroom. For once, this early morning rush was not to relieve her bladder; she was ready for today. The Day. While turning the water on to a scolding hot temperature, she quickly scampers into the shower, tossing her long, dark brown hair behind her as she goes. She was going to be extra clean today because today was not just any day. Today was The Day.

A few minutes and half a bottle of conditioner later, she exits the bathroom, leaving a lavender scent trailing behind her. She walks over to her closet, where she bits her lip. What would she wear? What outfit could possibly be good enough for today? The Day. She stands there shivering, trying to make what would possibly be the most important decision of her life. Okay, maybe not her life. That would be a little melodramatic, she decided as she finally caved to her shaking limbs and grabbed the blue sundress with yellow flowers on it.

"Miaaa!" hollered her mother in a singsong voice, "are you up yet?"

"Yes, Mum," Mia dutifully replied.

"Remember that you still need to pack!"

"Shit!" Mia swore under her breath as she raced across the room grabbing things at random and stuffing them into the maroon and yellow trunk with a giant H emblazoned upon it. She had totally spaced this morning, thinking that all her packing was already done the night before, like it had been every other year. This would happen today, not any other day, today. The Day.

Ages later, or perhaps it was really only minutes – Mia never claimed to be excellent at keeping time, she finally had everything in the trunk. She heaved a great sigh of relief, seeing as she didn't even have to sit on her trunk this year to get everything to fit.

Great. Now it was time for hair.

"AMELIA!" her mom screeched, literally screeched, up the stairs.

_Oh no_, thought Mia, _this can't be good_.

"Mia it's time to go!"

Mia glanced at her clock. Nine forty-five. Why was Mum freaking out? She still had plenty of time.

"It's only fifteen minutes until the train leaves! We need to leave now!"

Fifteen minutes…oh yeah, Mia ran a hand through her still damp hair, remembering that Claribel busted her alarm clock when she visited two weeks ago. The clock had been an hour behind ever since.

"MIA!"

"I'm coming! Relax," Mia ensured her mother as she glanced in the mirror, grabbed her wand on her nightstand, and gave it a quick wave. Not exactly what she was planning. Hair always looked best when it was done without magic. Nevertheless, it was time to go, so Mia gave one more flick of her wand and exited the room, wavy chestnut hair streaming down her back.

She was ready. Today was The Day. The day she was going back to Hogwarts, for the last time.

* * *

><p>"Padfoot, waaaaake uuuup."<p>

Groaning and mumbling is heard as a young man yanks up the covers, black hair completely disappearing behind a blue comforter.

"Come on Padfoot! Today's The Day!" exclaims an excited to the point of annoyance James Potter.

The young man, Padfoot, sighs contentedly.

"SIRIUS!"

"What!" yells Sirius, exasperated, open his light gray eyes to see that his are only mere inches away from a pair of hazel one's, which are gleaming with excitement.

"AGGHHH!" yells Sirius, falling out of bed in a tumble of blankets, sheets, pillows, and teenage boys. Now entirely awake, he asks, "Are you bleeding mad? You do not just stare at a person when trying to wake them! Imagine having to see your ugly face first thing of the day."

"Ah, you don't mean that," James tells Sirius as he untangles himself from a particularly clingy bed sheet and walks over the body length mirror in the corner of the room. "I think I look rather dashing this morning myself," he says, running is hand through his messy black hair and straightening his rounded glasses.

"Hmf!" Sirius snorts, failing to suppress a bark of laughter.

"What? You don't agree? You don't think that this will finally be the year that Lily finally falls for my brazen good-looks and natural charm?"

"Mate, just because you made Head Boy does not mean that the Lovely Lily with even give you a second glance, unless of course that second glance is to glare loathingly in your direction," replies Sirius who gathers his morning attire and proceeds to walk out of the room.

Unperturbed, James bounces after Sirius into the long hallway. "Mum made us special breakfast today, with waffles and bacon and eggs and strawberries. Don't you love waffles and strawberries? She said that a special day like today called for a special meal to start off The Day, but I'm pretty sure she was just sad and trying to make up to us the fact that her and Dad couldn't be there to see us off. She was really looking forward to it, but she told me to tell you she loves you, give you a big hug, tell you to write her every week, and…something else, but I can't remember it…"

_Bugger, _thought Sirius as he meandered past the doors, James prancing back in forth in front of him, _when did this hallway get so bleeding long._

"Oh, yeah!" James exclaimed, eyes widening. "She wanted me to wake you up by ten o'clock."

Sirius finally passed his best friend and slinked into the bathroom. Sighing with relief, he began to close the door on James' anxious face.

"Great, thanks Prongs. Now will you leave me alone, or were you planning on following me into the shower as well?"

"Wait, wait! You better hurry because it's already ten forty-five! The train leaves in fifteen minutes!"

Sirius gritted his teeth in frustration, and James offered him a placating smile.

No, beating James would have to wait until later, Sirius decided slamming the door.

* * *

><p>Blonde eyelashes. Blonde eyelashes. <em>Blonde eyelashes suck<em>, thought Claribel Collins as she prepared for her day. The Day.

It was one small thing: blonde eyelashes. They always got this way during summer, ever since she was five years old. She utterly hated blonde eyelashes, for they made it impossible to walk out of the house without wearing mascara, which is why that even on a humid, eighty-five degree day in southern Wales, she was still forced to waste valuable flirting minutes to put on pointless makeup that would wash off eventually anyway.

Blonde eyelashes. It was by far not the hugest flaw in her personal appearance, not that she was complaining; she'd always liked her medium length blonde hair with smartly cut bangs. But for some reason, the fact that she had blonde eyelashes for five out of the twelve months of the year bugged her to no end.

"Bloody blonde eyelashes," she said, finally pulling her eyelashes through an eyelash comb.

Let's get this straight. Claribel was not someone who was always all consumed with her personal appearance. She just wanted to look her best today because today was The Day, and if _someone_ happened to notice that she was looking particularly gorgeous today, so be it. Claribel ran a brush through her golden locks one more time, glancing at her outfit in the mirror. She has worked particular hard to pick out today's green plaid skirt and white blouse and hoped it wasn't obvious that she was trying too hard.

"Claire," called her little sister, Annabel, "Mummy says it's time for you to leave. She said Daddy called her to say that the morning traffic is brutal. Actually, it's probably so brutal that you shouldn't go back to school at all."

Claribel smiled as Annabel came sprinting into her room.

"That brutal, really?" asked Claribel, picking up the nine-year-old in a massive hug.

"Yes, horribly brutal."

"And you're not just saying that because you don't want me to go back to Hogwarts?"

"Why would I do that?" Annabel batted her own blonde eyelashes, which somehow looked impossibly lovely on her face, gazing up at her older sister innocently.

_Who taught her that look? _ Claribel thought, grinning as she imagined all the trouble this kid could get out of with that puppy dog pout. She only got to see her sister for three months out of the year, and her biggest regret was the fact that she missed a lot of Annabel's growing up over the years.

"Because you're going to miss me like crazy when I leave," Claribel told her little Shirley Temple look-a-like.

Annabel only nodded as she pressed herself closer to her sister's chest. The two sat in the sun soaked room for a few minutes that both wished could have lasted hours, but it couldn't. Today was The Day.

Heaving Annabel off her, Claribel led the way to the kitchen, waving her wand behind her. The fully packed trunk in the corner of the room slowly floated along behind the fair-haired sisters.

"Honey, it's almost a quarter to eleven," Claribel's mother called up the stairs as the girls appeared at the top. "Good, but where's your stuff?"

The floating trunk then came into view. Claribel watched her mother sigh and then smile. It had been hard enough for her family to get used to the fact that she was a witch, and when she turned seventeen last year and was finally allowed to use magic outside of school, her family was shocked by what she could do with the simple flick of her wand.

Not that magic was easy for her, she had always felt that it was harder for her being muggle-born and not having the advantages that pureblood wizards had. Claribel had always worked her but off in classes, learning as much magic as she possibly could, because she would hate to disappoint her family, especially her father who had had high hopes that she would take up the family tradition and become a doctor like she was. Growing up, Claribel had always wanted be a doctor like her dad, but mostly because she knew it was so important to him.

When she received her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, everything changed. Claribel cared far less about far less about take your daughter to work day and far more about the limitless possibilities of the magical world. While Claribel knew that her family still loved and supported her, she couldn't help but feel that she'd let them down by leaving them to enter this new world.

Climbing down the stairs with Annabel now on her back, Claribel gave her mum one last hug.

"I love you, sweetie," her mum whispered, suddenly out of breathe. The moment was obviously hard for any mother, sending your eldest child off for their last year at school.

"I love you too, Mum," Claribel replied.

"What about me?" Annabel asked indignantly.

"I love you too, Little Duck." Claribel told her sister, using Annabel's favorite nickname. Annabel giggled, pushing Claribel towards the door.

Claribel stood her ground, waiting. Annabel kept trying to push until finally conceding. "I love you too, Miss Hen," she said with a giggle as Claribel allowed herself to be guided out the door. Giving her sister one last grin, she closed the door and disappeared on the spot.

* * *

><p>A young man of seventeen peered out his bedroom window for what he knew would be the last time. His mother wanted him to return home next summer, but he knew that he couldn't do that to her. He had been a nuisance on his parents for far too long.<p>

Remus Lupin sighed, picking up his trunk and making his way out the door without so much as a backward glance. Coming up on the kitchen, Remus could smell buttermilk pancakes, his favorite meal. Remus loved all breakfast foods, and his mum said they were easy to make, so she made them as often as she could. She was always doing stuff like that: trying to make Remus's life better in all the ways she could, no matter how small. Remus knew she blamed herself for his condition, though Remus knew she was guiltless. It was hard on her, but she never stopped being the best mother she could possibly be.

Forcing a smile, Remus walked into the kitchen. His mother's eyes lit up as she turned around at the noise.

"I made your favorite," she told him. "It's a big day today!"

"Yeah, it smells great. Thanks Mum." Remus replied, dutifully giving his mother a good morning hug. She always insisted on hugs for greetings, at any time of the day.

"Goodness, you're all packed and ready, and it's barely ten o'clock. You're not anxious to get away from me, are you?"

"Of course not Mum. My goal is to not be late for the train at least one year."

"Oh, everyone's always late. That's the whole point," she chides him good-naturedly.

Remus laughs, replying, "That may be true, but I am still trying to start of my seventh year to the best of my ability, starting with punctuality." He pulls out a chair, and his mum sets a large stack of pancakes in front of him. He eats his last meal at home slowly, savoring each bite, as his mother goes through the checklist.

"All your books are packed?"

"Check."

"All your robes, uniforms?"

"Check."

"Your cauldron, potions kit, dress robes?"

"Check, check, check."

Still skeptical, she walks over to his trunk, opens it, and ransacks the whole thing.

When Remus finally finishes his last bite of pancakes, she closes the trunk, now assured that her son will be missing nothing. Remus glances at the clock. It read a quarter to eleven. His mother also looks to where his eyes were drawn, drawing the same conclusion.

"Time to go," she told him walking toward the door, putting on her shoes and coat.

"Wait, you're not coming too? Are you?" Remus asked.

"Well, of course I am," she reprimanded him. "It's not every day my only son goes off for his last year of school. What kind of mother do you take me for?"

"The best," Remus answered, gathering his coat and shoes as well.

Together, the two left the house and closed the door.

* * *

><p><em>God I hate silence, <em>thought Megara Rivera, _it's so bloody loud._

She turned on the car stereo, hoping that the one station her old clunker of a station wagon could actually receive wasn't playing any polka music today.

_Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs_

"You have got to be kidding me."

_And what's wrong with that?_

"Ugggghhh!" groaned Megara. "Everything!"

_I'd like to know 'cause here I go again._

"Please don't."

_I love you_

Oh, wait, it repeats. Over. And over. And over again. Yay.

"Bloody hell! You have got to be kidding me." Megara complained steely. She hated all these bleeding love songs, which always seemed to be the only thing on the radio. Why was every girl so obsessed with being in love? What ever happened to feminism? It was ridiculous. This song in particular she decided was horrific. All it kept saying over and over and over and over…oh wait, here come the chorus again.

Megara turned off the radio in protest. Picking up the speed, she blazed through traffic and parked in the lot at King's Cross Station at ten forty-five.

* * *

><p>"Shanti! Get out of the bathroom. There are other people living in this house!"<p>

"Just a few more minutes!"

The young man sighed, slinking down to sit on the floor next to the door of the bathroom. He knew that a few minutes could translate to a few hours in girl language. He had warm brown skin and fine black hair, which he ran a hand through impatiently. There was only an hour until they had to catch the train.

Shockingly, a couple minutes later, his twin sister finally exited the bathroom. She looked down hall before spotting him sitting casually on the ground.

"What are you doing down there?" she asked him patronizingly.

"Waiting," he replied nonplussed. Having a twin sister has always been a blast growing up. The two had been inseparable until, of course, they had hit their teenage years. Shanti, being a girl, had matured quite faster then himself, yet in the past couple years, he had definitely caught up to her, both physically and emotionally, despite Shanti's disbelief. "But I was predicting that the Nile would dry up before you'd leave the bathroom for someone else to use."

"So, the big, smart Ravenclaw thinks he knows everything. Give a girl a break. Today's not just any day. Today's The Day! I have to look my best." Shanti told him, spinning so that he could admire he brand new white dress. He had to admit to himself, with her dark hair and skin; she did look pretty good today. Unfortunately for him, this was not a good thing, since the first topic among his friends on the train today would be how hot his sister looked.

"Why? So that you can impress people that have know you since you were eleven? And knock off the Ravenclaw jokes. They are not funny, and you're being a little hypocritical considering you're biggest bloody Gryffindor in the whole school."

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment, and didn't you say you were in dire need to use the bathroom, Nike?" she asked him with a smirk picking up at the corners of her mouth.

"I told you not to call me that," he told her with a sour face.

"Well, why not, everyone else gets to call you that?" she asked indignantly.

"If, by everyone else, you mean the marauders and my friends when they're taking the mickey out of me, they get to use that nickname because if they knew how much it gets under my skin, they'd just call me that even more. Besides, they're bigger than you."

"Fine, Nikesh, but I still don't get why you don't like that nickname in the first place. It's kind of cool."

"Would you like to be named after a shoe?" he asked. Not waiting for a response, "I didn't think so, and mum hates it too."

"Mum hates everything that's not the least bit Indian." Shanti told him, shoving him into the bathroom. "Now shower and get ready. I'm not taking no nasty smelling brother with to King's Cross. It's hard enough taking a nasty looking one."

Shanti shut the door on him, making sure that she got the last word. Nikesh exhaled loudly. Shanti always knew how to annoy him. Digging at his looks! Sheesh! They were twins for crying out loud! He was so ready to be back at school, where not only not only three hundred other students separated his sister and him but also House differences. Many other siblings were put in the same house. The fact that Shanti and him weren't had bothered Nikesh for the first couple years at Hogwarts, but, as they grew apart, he began to appreciate the distance.

"Nike! Get your ugly arse down here!"

It wasn't too difficult to figure out why.

"The train leaves in fifteen minutes!"

* * *

><p>"Lily Evans, Head Girl."<p>

"Head Girl, Lily Evans."

"Miss Lily Evans, Head Girl."

_It all just rolls off the tongue, _thought Lily looking in the mirror. She straightened her badge and her black robes. She had intentionally gotten to King's Cross extra early this morning to change into her robes. The Head Girl had to look her best today. The Day.

She has been ecstatic the day she got her Hogwarts letter this year, containing a bright and shiny Head badge. Finally, after working her butt off for seven years, she was Head Girl. Her parents were so proud, Head Girl being something that even muggles could understand. They just dropped her off at the station five minutes ago after a very tearful goodbye. This morning hadn't exactly run smoothly for the Evans' family.

"Petunia, where's my light blue blouse?" Lily asked, walking into her older sister's room.

Petunia was still lying under the covers when she responded, "You mean my light blue blouse? Oh no, you are not taking my clothes with you to the freak school you go to."

"Petunia," chided Lily, "you're supposed to be up and ready by now! Mum said that you had to come with to see me off to school." Lily really couldn't care less about the fact that her sister was stealing her clothes and claiming them as her own; she did care about the fact that her sister, who she only got to see three months out of the year, didn't even want to say goodbye as she was leaving for her last year of school.

"Hmf," snorted Petunia, "It's the same every year. Mum cries. Dad tries not to cry. You all hug. You and all the other freaks walk through the wall. You get on the train to freak school."

"Come on, Tunney. It's my last year. The least you could do is say goodbye."

Petunia flinched at the mention of her childhood nickname. She sat up in her bed and waved. "Goodbye." She then proceeded to lie back down, pull the covers over her head, and snore dramatically.

Hurt, but not altogether surprised, Lily whispered, "Goodbye," and left the room.

Lily sighed as she gave one last look in the mirror. Ten-forty five. Her friends should be getting here any minute now. She'd been waiting for weeks to hear from them. Not only that, but she's finally learn who was going to be Head Boy with her this year. She was crossing her fingers for Remus, who was her fellow Gryffindor prefect and a close friend.

With a final toss of her long red hair and one last straighten of her Head Girl badge Lily marched out of the room. She was ready because today wasn't just any day. Today was The Day.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hi everybody! First off, I like to thank you for even reading this chapter. I've been addicted to reading it ever since HP7 came out, and I needed a new outlet for all my Harry Potter love. Please tell me what you think of the story, and I'll try to respond to every review. I'll do my best to update as often as I can.<strong>

**Please rate and review**

**I'm otter**

**noelleB**


	2. Raging Heads and Clumsy Friends

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the brilliant Jo Rowling. We're BFF.

* * *

><p>Brushing away tears, Mia ran briskly into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Mia and her mother always said goodbye before crossing the barrier. Mia's mother always told her it was because she hated the feeling of nostalgia. Mia knew it was actually because walking through the wall made her feel "unbearably nauseous".<p>

These feeling of sorrow were brief, however, for Mia could not keep the smile off her face as the Scarlet Steam Engine appeared in her view. Not two seconds later, Mia felt her breathe knocked out of her as a blonde head bobbed across her vision.

"MIIAAAA!" the girl screeched in a high-pitched voice. Squeezing tighter, Clarabelle got a better grip on one of her best friends. "Oh my gosh, I've missed you! How was your summer? You look amazing, by the way. Where did you get that dress? It is ridiculously cute on you."

Not letting go, her rant continued without pause. "Lily must already be doing her Head Girl duties. Can you believe it, our own Lily Evans running the school? She must be going bonkers."

"Clar….I…can't…breathe," Mia managed to gasp.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Claribel said anxiously, releasing her tight grip.

"Oh, it's fine." Mia smiled sweetly at her friend, projected nonexistent innocence. "Ahhhh! Come here you gorgeous girl!" Mia laughed as she grabbed Claribel in her own bone-crushing hug.

"Can I join in?" said a male voice, interrupting the girlish giggles. The two pulled apart to look at the new arrival.

"Reems!" shouted Mia as she attacked him in a giant hug. Remus laughed, returning the hug. "Hey, Claribel," he said, smiling over Mia's shoulder.

"Hey, Remus," Claribel replied with a broad smile of her own.

Quite suddenly, Mia wrenched herself out of Remus's arms, shouting, "LILY!" across the platform.

Laughing, Remus turned toward Claribel, arms outstretched slightly. Claribel needed no further invitation. She launched into Remus, knocking him slightly off-balance. Not startled in the slightest, Remus laughed, enclosing his arms tightly around her. Claribel enjoyed the hug immensely, but forced herself to withdraw, sighing heavily on the inside. "Did you have a good holiday?" Remus asked her, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," she told him, "It was pretty uneventful, but I just like spending time with my family."

"Of course. How old is that little sister Anna of yours now anyway?"

Pleased that Remus remembered Annabel, Claribel replied, "She just turned nine this summer."

"Ah, I bet she has you all wrapped around her little finger. Gets everything she wants."

"Haha," Claribel intoned sarcastically, "Naturally, she does. The kid's a master manipulator."

"Well, she did learn from the best," Remus said slyly.

"Are you insinuating that I am devious, manipulative schemer, no better than a Marauder such as yourself?" Claribel asked, feigning shock.

Laughing, Remus consoled her, "Never, I was merely pointing out that you are a girl who will use her devilishly sweet nature to get exactly what she wants."

"Well, what can I say? I'm just remarkably persuasive," she told him, batting her eyelashes and winking suggestively.

Unable to keep a straight face for longer than two seconds, Remus busted out laughing. Claribel posed haughtily, pouted, and pushed up her hair before she could no longer contain herself and started to laugh as well.

"What's so funny?" Mia asked the two as she jumped into the twosome, grabbed both their heads, and proceeded to bonk them together.

"Mia!" chided a stern Head Girl in the form of a Miss Lily Evans. "Try not to knock them out, would you?" Remus pulled slightly away from the crazed girls, rubbing his forehead when, suddenly, someone crashed into him from behind. Remus was throttle forward into Claribel. The two swayed awkwardly, then toppled over, landing on the rough station platform.

"Ok, who's the idiot who decided to stand right in front of the barrier?" asked a rather annoyed Megara Rivera. Glancing down, she raised her eyebrows. "Of course," she answered her own question, "these idiots that I like to call my best friends."

"Megs!" Lily exclaimed, running forward to embrace her friend. While the two girls exchanged their post-summer greeting, Mia eyes the couple down on the ground. Remus was attempting to help a klutzy Claribel to her feet. Needless to say it was not going well. Noticing Claribel's bunched up skirt, Mia cleared her throat, getting her attention and nodding to the exposed skin. Claribel looked down, blushed, and again fell to the ground almost taking Remus, who was still holding her hand, down again with her. Trying and failing to contain her laughter, Mia took Claribel's other hand, and she and Remus finally managed to pull Claribel off the ground.

Still tripping over her own two feet, Claribel tried to keep her composure, but was unable to when yet another person crashed through the barrier, knocking her once again to the ground.

"Bloody hell! Who stands in front of the barrier?" Two teenagers of Indian heritage bounded through the barrier at full speed, clearing a pathway for a large group of almost-but-not-quite late passengers and parents. Claribel barely managed to scramble away from the stampeding horde. Crawling on all fours, Claribel huddled herself into the corner of the platform and glanced around her to check that everything was now safe. She sighed. No one could see her here through the bustling crowd. Thank goodness. All her hard work into looking good lost because of a couple of meetings with the ground. With little enthusiasm, Claribel attempted to fix her hair and once again straightened her skirt, which it was so not the right day to wear, she decided.

"Found safety, huh?" Claribel looked up to see Remus grinning down at her. Remus then slid down right next to her on the ground. "Sorry about that," he said nodding toward the flow of witches and wizards now saying their frantic goodbyes.

"Not your fault that I'm unbearably clumsy." Claribel told him.

"True," Remus replied, "but I've always been of the belief that a rightly chivalrous Gryffindor would never let a lady be trampled on by a crowd of unruly Hogwarts students and their mad parents." This got Claribel to smile faintly at him. She had had such high expectations for today. Oh well, maybe if they sat here a little longer she and Remus could find a compartment of their own…

"Claribel!" someone yelled across the platform. Claribel tried to look up but couldn't see through the sea of legs.

"Claribel!" several voices this time. Remus grabbed her hand once more and finally managed to pick her up off the ground, for what she hoped would be the last time.

"CLARIBEL!" Claribel leaned on her tiptoes to see that Mia, Lily, and Meg had now been joined Shanti Sunrise. Catching Lily's eyes, Claribel waved frantically. She turned toward Remus, but he was looking with anxious eyes in the opposite direction, toward the now empty barrier.

"I'm sure they're here" Claribel told him consolingly, "we'd better go get a compartment before they're all full." Remus turned back, faced her, and nodded.

* * *

><p>Lily smiled as she walked passed the train compartments on her way to the prefects meeting. When greeted by friends, she graciously accepted their 'congradulations's and 'we knew you'd get it's. Reaching the prefect compartment, Lily was happy to see that most prefects had already arrived. Lily scanned the chests of the male seventh years, trying to determine who had received the badge. She had found herself extremely disappointed to learn that Remus, who followed after her into the room, did not get the badge. But, she thought, maybe it was for the better if the two Heads were from different Houses. It might show some unity between the Houses.<p>

"Hey Lily!" Lily turned around to see a handsome young man with lightly tossed brown hair and grey eyes.

"Amos! Hi," Lily greeted with a smile. Amos would really be a good candidate for the job, Lily thought with hope. The two got along really well, and he certainly was something to look at…

"I trust that you had a good break? Congrats on Head Girl by the way! Knew it had going to be you. Any idea on who got the job to partner with fair Lily Evans?" Lily's smile lessened slightly. If not Amos, then who got it.

"No idea," Lily told him looking around the compartment. She counted up the seventh year prefects in her head: from Hufflepuff-Amos and Natalie Fawcett; from Ravenclaw, Nikesh Sunrita and Ruth Brown; from Gryffindor, Remus and herself; and from Slytherin, Katherine Dobbs and…oh no.

"Hope you haven't been waiting on our account," said a slide voice at the compartment entrance. Two young men stood in the doorway. The one who spoke had an aristocratic face, long dark hair, and cloudy grey eyes. He was without question attractive, but his domineering attitude was quite unappealing. Lily registered the fact that he looked more like his elder brother each year before observing the second arrival.

He looked skinnier, she thought to herself. She noted his gaunt face and sunken in features. His greasy black hair was longer than ever, past his shoulders now. None of this was particularly flattering, but what shocked Lily were his eyes. Always dark and black, his eyes used to contain some sort of comfort…an innocence. That no longer existed. When their eyes briefly met, Lily only saw cold. Hard cold. Eyes that conveyed nothing but ice, completely devoid of emotion. Diverting her eyes, Lily quickly skimmed his uniform. No badge. _What?_

"Of course not," Lily told them monotone, "it's barely past eleven." She turned away, faced the compartment, and counted the present prefects. Eight fifth years…eight sixth years…eight seventh years? Impossible, thought Lily, how could there be no Head Boy. Dumbledore would never give her the job to handle alone. _Would he?_

All eyes were currently on her. Lily took a deep breath. She was totally prepared to handle this meeting on her own.

"Alright everyone," Lily told them authoritatively, "let's get started. First manner of business, I really wanted to go over…"

SMASH! The door slammed open, and a raven-haired boy of seventeen crashed into the room. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am so beyond late right now."

"POTTER!" Lily shrieked, "What the hell are you doing here?" Lily glared at a gasping James Potter.

"I'm here for the meeting," he told her wide-eyed.

"What? Is crashing the prefects meeting on that stupid list of yours?" she asked incredulously.

"No! Well, yes, actually, it was. But I don't really think this is going to count."

"Um, well, yes, actually, it does. Now will you leave?" Exasperated, Lily placed a hand on her hip.

"But I have to be here for the meeting," James told her in earnest.

"Why do _you_ have to be here for the meeting?"

"Because," James answered, "Lily, I'm Head Boy."

People sometimes talk about those "jaw dropping" moments. Yeah, this was one of them. Lily literally felt her lower jaw fall toward the ground. She was speechless. It had to be a joke, she thought. There was no possible way Dumbledore would make _James Potter _head boy. But…it was rather suspicious for James to already be in his robes. Taking a breath, Lily forced herself to look at his chest. There it was: bright, shiny, and gold, like her own. The only difference was that his read HB.

Lily was officially on an emotional rollercoaster. Her shock quickly dissolved, and she was back on the anger train. Lily felt her cheeks inflame. Being a redhead, hiding emotions had never been her strong suit. She was enraged. Air was exiting out her nose in bursts, as her breathing got heavier. Steam was practically blowing out of her ears, and James just stood there. He swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing.

"Potter, outside now!" Lily ordered.

"But…"

"I said, _now_!" Lily said. "I'll be back in a minute. Keep everyone here," she muttered an aside to Remus. Lily then grabbed James forcefully by the sleeve and tugged him into the hallways. She looked around to see plenty of students still milling around looking for compartments. Still pulling on to James, Lily marched past the other students looking for someplace empty.

"Lily, where are we…"

"Shut up, Potter!"

"Yes, ma'am." Lily flashed him a look as she barricaded past two first years into a small empty compartment. She let go of James and stepped away from him. Huffing out a large breath, she hissed, "What were you thinking, Potter? Barging into the first prefect meeting late is not a very good way to start off the year. This has to be some kind of cruel joke. No one in their right mind would make James Potter, leader of the infamous marauders, Head Boy. Either Dumbledore's off his rocker, which by all means is entirely possible, or this is all some sort of cruel prank to play on Lily's first day as Head Girl, which is not just possible but entirely plausible. That must be it. Remus is actually Head Boy, and you and Sirius somehow managed to talk him into this great scheme to start the year off. Tell me it's a joke, Potter. Tell me right now." Lily regained her breath. That was an impressive rant, she thought to herself.

James just looked at Lily. Where there had been slight fear in his eyes earlier was now filled with fiery anger. "Lily, this is not some stupid prank. I'm _Head Boy_. I have the badge. The letter is in my trunk if you're still looking for more proof. Now, either you're going to yell at me some more, or we're going to go back to the prefect's compartment to lead that meeting. Okay?" His hazel eyes were staring into hers behind his rimmed glasses. She knew he wasn't lying.

Avoiding any more eye contact, Lily's eyes flitted around the small compartment they were in. She was having an inner conflict. The first part of her, the responsible part, wanted to walk calmly back into the prefect compartment and begin the meeting as planned. The second part of her, the part that detested all things Potter, wanted to hex James freaking Potter for being an indolent, irresponsible prankster and an over-all pain the arse.

Lily took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and walked out of the compartment. Without a word, James followed her down the train. Looking inside the door to the prefect's cabin, Lily could see that no one had left, and all were entertaining themselves; however, when Lily entered the room with James behind her, the cabin fell silent.

"Well, now that we're all here. Let's begin."

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><p>Sirius Black strolled through the train, glanced into each compartment for a sign of someone to sit by. Fifth year Hufflepuffs…second year Gryffindors…first years…<p>

"Eeeeeeeepp!"

Recognizing the girlish squeal, Sirius smiled and headed toward a compartment two doors down. Looking inside, he saw two teenage girls on top of something…or someone? After some movement, Sirius caught a glimpse of dark brown hair emerging from the struggling teens. Deciding that this was probably the best company he would find, Sirius opened the compartment.

Walking inside, Sirius saw that he was not the only male here. Sirius nodded in greeting to a dark-skinned boy who he recognized as Nikesh Rivera, Ravenclaw and brother of Shanti, one of the girls currently tangled up on the ground.

"Can I join in?" Sirius asked, smirking.

"SIRIUS!" came an excited cry from the bottom of the pile. Mia was finally able to gain back her breathe as Claribel and Shanti jumped off of her. The two twirled around, smiled, and tackled their second victim. Only Sirius, being stronger, didn't fall to the ground, instead he warmly embraced the two in a proper bear hug.

Mia, having regained some of her stamina, picked herself up off the ground. She then proceeded to take a seat in the spot nearest the window, as she had intended to before Shanti and Claribel decided that she didn't deserve the window seas _again _this year. Feeling victorious, Mia allowed a grin to spread across her face. Slowly, her expression morphed into a glare as she looked at the threesome before her.

Claribel, Shanti, and Sirius Black were currently bouncing up and down before her vary eyes. They laughed and chatted and giggled like the best of schoolgirl chums. Then again, two of them were.

Sirius then turned his attention the sullen looking brunette in the corner.

"Aw, is someone sad they're being left out? Did Miss Jones want to be the first one to give me a hug?" Sirius teased her playfully.

Catching his tone, Mia pouted dramatically. "It's not fair. Sirius Black never pays attention to me! Why? I'm the president of his fan club, his number one fan girl! It's just not fair." Whining was definitely one of her specialties, in her opinion.

"Life's not fair, love. Deal with it."

Farce forgotten, Mia's expression turned staid. "Thanks, I'll remember that. You are ever so kind." The two then faced each other in silence, completely serious. The room remained quiet for several seconds. As the time ticked by, Shanti and Claribel looked at each other, communicating nonverbally. _What are they doing? _It was difficult for them to get one of Mia and Sirius quiet, so much as both of them.

A muscle in Sirius's mouth twitched slightly. That's all it took. Mia let loose a massive grin.

"HA!" Sirius exclaimed. "I win! First stare-down of the year is in the bank." Sirius proceeded to do his victory dance around the compartment. In his jubilance, Sirius failed to notice the trunk behind him. Tripping over the trunk, Sirius flung out his arms before landing roughly onto the seat, practically on top of Mia.

"Move over, you big lug." Mia ordered, yet there was amusement in her voice.

"You know, I don't think that I can do that. I'm quite comfortable right where I am right now." Sirius stretched out over the seat, lied back, and put his arm around Mia's shoulders. "Ah, perfect. Nice and cozy."

Mia gave him a disgruntled look but protested no further. Instead, she snuggled into Sirius's shoulder, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to get some sleep…

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><p><strong> AN: Yeah Buddy, I finally had the time to put out Chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed.<strong>

**Please Review! It would mean the world :)**


	3. A Cornfield and Buttering Up Barmaids

Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters, with a few minor exceptions, belong to the wonderful JK Rowling.

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><p>"Get up, you lazy lugs! We're almost to Homemade."<p>

Shanti shook her catatonic like friends as she practically screamed into their ears. It was useless. She knew that once Mia was out, there was no waking her. Sirius seemed to be on a similar wavelength. Shanti sighed, shrugged, and walked out of the room.

"Fine. Be that way. Not my problem."

As she exited the compartment, she brushed past Meg.

"Great, you're here. You get them to wake up."

"You mean they're still asleep! It's been like four hours." Meg asked in disbelief.

"I'm guessing someone didn't get enough sleep tonight."

"Or someone is merely preparing for the stellar party that is planned for tonight." a voice said, as James Potter sidled up to the girls.

"Do you really think that's the wisest idea, James? Lily won't like her Head Boy goofing around first night of term." Shanti told James harshly.

"It's tradition!" James said emphatically, "Besides, I already asked Lily, and she said that if you girls were in, she was too."

"Really?" Shanti asked excitedly.

"Really?" Meg asked skeptically.

"Really." James replied, a grin stretching across his face.

Shanti gave a cheer, "Yes! So what's the plan?"

"We'll all meet up outside the Room of Requirement after the feast. The marauders will be supplying food and drinks for all."

"But we'll all eat at the feast. We'll be full." Meg pointed out.

"Who cares? It's the first day of seventh year! Perfect time to pig out on whatever delectable edibles that the House Elves can scrounge up. Sirius even volunteered to go get drinks from the Three Broomsticks."

"Firewhiskey?" Shanti intoned eagerly. She and Meg looked at James expectantly.

"It's Sirius. Naturally."

The girls smiled at each other deviously.

Then they heard the train whistle.

"FIRST YEARS! OVER HERE, FIRST YEARS!"

"I better get going. I promised Lily we'd find a carriage together. She said she has 'official Head business' to discuss." James hurried down the train, and the girls followed him.

Meanwhile, alone the now close to empty apartment, slept a peaceful Sirius Black and Amelia Jones.

* * *

><p>SPLASH!<p>

Mia was woken abruptly when she felt a rush of icy water cascade across her face and seep into her clothing. Beneath her, Sirius stirred ever so slightly before screaming as he two was doused in the chilled liquid. As he tried to shake himself dry, the two tumbled onto the floor.

"Terribly sorry, dears, but the train is about to leave." Mia and Sirius looked up simultaneously to see the middle-aged woman who pushed the candy trolley eyeing them apologetically.

Sirius got to his feet hastily, offering a hand to Mia as well.

"Oh, it's fine, Ma'am," Sirius told her, "wait a second…Did you say the train was about to leave!"

"Yes, Mr. Black!"

Mia already had her trunk in hand by the time Sirius had gained enough composure to ask, "Have the carriages left already too?" The woman nodded at him. Sirius stood there is shock.

"But how could we have slept… no one woke us…"

"Sirius, who cares? We need to get off this train now!" Mia told him as she heard the familiar call of the scarlet steam engine. "The train is moving! Grab your trunk, damn it!"

Snapping out of it, Sirius gathered his belongings and sprinted out the door in record timing. Mia followed behind him. The two rushed passed compartments, looking for an exit. Once they reached one, Sirius whipped the door open. The train was picking up speed.

"What are we going to do?" Mia asked, catching her breath.

"Jump."

"WHAT? Sirius there is no way that I am…"

"It's either that or take the train back to King's Cross! Your choice."

Mia, looking anxious, didn't reply.

"Now, on the count of three. One. Two…Three!"

"SPONGIFY!" Sirius cried as they jumped onto the pavement. Toppling over their feet, they landed quite comfortably, trunks beside them."

"Cushioning charm." Sirius replied to Mia's unasked question.

Mia sighed with relief. "Good thinking."

Gathering up their belongings, including Mia's trunk that had fallen into a small pond, Sirius scoped out the area where they had landed. "Well the train went further than I thought, I'd say we're a couple of kilometers from Hogwarts from here."

Also getting to her feet, Mia reached for her trunk, which was in Sirius's arms. "Great! Just bloody fantastic. This is exactly how I wanted my last year at Hogwarts to start out." She tugged on her trunk fruitlessly as Sirius kept his good grip. "I'm in the middle of some cornfield, kilometers away from civilization, and to top that off my stuff is soaking." At that moment, she stopped tugging on her trunk. Giving Sirius one last irritated look, Mia lunged forward, gave an almighty tug on her trunk, and put all of the rest of her weight onto Sirius's chest. The two toppled in a clumsy tango before Sirius slipped. The result was one Sirius Black landing in the pond that had previously contained Mia's luggage.

Sputtering about, Sirius wiped his shaggy wet hair from his face. Looking up, he saw a triumphant Mia holding her luggage above him, completely dry. "What exactly was that for?" he asked exasperated.

"It's your fault that we're in this stupid mess."

"Because I was the one who fell asleep and decided not to wake up before the train left."

"Yes, clearly this is all your fault."

"You really are something, you know. By the way, we aren't in a cornfield. This happens to be a field of sunflowers."

Mia looked around, and surely, they were indeed in a field of sunflowers. How this fact had evaded her knowledge, she didn't know, nor did she particularly care. With one simple look at Sirius, she was able to convey this feeling of apathy toward what exact kind of crop they were currently standing – or in the case of Sirius sitting – in.

As she furthered observed their surroundings, Mia noticed an old farmhouse about four hundred meters to their left. The night was clear. She could make out several constellations perfectly and directly above them sat a waning crescent moon. Looking to her right, she spotted Hogmeade's infamous Shrieking Shack, which had been rumored to be haunted ever since it was built during her first year at Hogwarts. Mia shivered. There was definitely something creepy about that place. She was feeling uncomfortable and slightly spooked when she noticed Sirius was speaking.

"Hello? Anyone in there? Okay, so you're giving me the silent treatment. Look, I'm sorry we missed the carriages, but I promise that we'll get to Hogwarts in no time. And on the brightside, now we can stop and get supplies for the party."

"Party?" Mia questioned, "What party?"

"The annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party."

"How can the party be annual if it's our last first day of school?"

"Do you honestly think that we'll all graduate this year?"

"No."

"Exactly. I like to think ahead of the game you see. This is definitely going to be an annual event. I'm feeling it."

"Whatever. Can we just get out of here? This place gives me the heebie jeebies."

Sirius looked around. He laughed. "What? You mean the Shrieking Shack. Come off it."

"That place is haunted Sirius."

"Nah, those are just rumors."

"For real, that place creeps me out."

Sirius smirked at her.

"I'm serious."

"No, love, I'm Sirius. Oh dear, maybe you did bonk your head jumping off that moving train. I better check this out. Come here." Sirius grabbed her head and twisted her neck around, looking for signs of damage. When his rather exuberant examination was over, he then decided to bring her whole head, along with the rest of her body because for some reason the two seemed to be attached, to his chest. "My poor baby. How could I have let this happen? It seems like only yesterday we were…running through the sunflowers…"

"Sirius." Mia muffled voice was heard through a mouthful of Sirius's jacket. "Let go of me." Biding by her wishes, Sirius let go of her head, giving her a reassuring smile when he saw that Mia still looked spooked by their current situation. "Can we just go now?" she asked.

"Of course," Mia sighed in relief, "but…"

"Oh great, I thought I detected a but."

"I promised James that I'd get drinks for the party, and, well, since we're so close to The Three Broomsticks, what better a time…" he trailed off, looking at Mia both apologetically and hopefully.

Giving him a look that said she knew she'd later regret this, Mia replied unwillingly, "Oh, fine."

"Yeah buddy! This is going to be the best annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party ever!"

"Yeah, yeah, of course, now can we please get a move on it."

"We are on it, sister friend."

"Don't talk like that."

"I will not, sister friend."

"Call me sister friend one more time."

"Alriiigghht, siiisterrr…" Sirius trailed off looking sheepish as Mia glared at him. "Okay, we are on the move." Sirius changed the subject, and then he charmed himself, Mia, and their luggage dry. He also enchanted the two's trunks to discreetly follow behind them as they made their way past the field of sunflowers and into Hogsmeade.

"Rather efficient, now, aren't we?" Mia asked him with interest.

Sirius looked at her, confused.

"Relax, Sirius. I was merely commenting on the fact that you seemed to have adjusted well to using magic outside of Hogwarts."

"Oh," said Sirius, his expression loosening, "Yeah, well, I suppose that's true. Why? Haven't you?"

Mia snorted, "Hardly." The two began carving their way through the empty streets of Hogsmeade village.

"Oh, come off it, you just turned seventeen last month. You've hardly had any time adapt."

"Yes, while that may be true, I simply am not as gifted magically as you are."

"You've gotten better marks then me for the past six years!"

"Yes, Sirius, I have, and that is because I paid attention and worked hard in class. I earned those marks. You, on the other hand, seem perfectly able to do even the most complicated of spells without a seconds practice. Face it, you're a kickarse wizard."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that. Most of the teachers seem to think differently."

Mia shook her head. "That's because they see so much potential in you. They expect more from you magical backround and pureblood status."

"Hey! I don't give a shit about magical status and pureblood backround…or whatever the hell you said. Look at Evans, clearly that doesn't make a difference in the aptitude of a wizard." Sirius looked annoyed at the very thought that he could be like those who thought that Muggleborns, or Mudbloods, were nothing but scum and wizards had the right to supreme rule of over Muggles…

Mia looked taken aback, and corrected herself, "Sirius, no, that's not what I'm saying. I know Lily's the brightest witch of our age, and her blood status obviously has nothing to do with that fact. I'm just telling you that you're good at magic, but you really could be _great_ at magic if you put in a little more time."

Sirius sighed. "You sound like McGonagall, look if I ever need a lecture, I'll ask for you for one." Sirius quickened his paced as the two moved toward the doors of The Three Broomsticks. Sirius entered the restaurant in a huff, moving immediately toward the bar.

Turning to see who had entered, the young barmaid smiled. "Well, if it isn't the devil charmer himself, what can I do for you today, Mr. Black?" She smiled at him, shooting him a quick wink.

Turning on that said 'devilish charm', Sirius grinned at the girl. "Well, my friends and I are throwing our annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party and we really need something to spice up the night." Sirius flashed he a melting smile, and returned the wink.

Behind him, Mia raised an eyebrow, entertained by the spectacle before her.

"Oh, and could you whip up something quick for my friend here and I? We missed the school carriages and are completely famished." It was only then that Mia realized that she hadn't eaten since breakfast, and her stomach growled accordingly.

Noticing that Sirius wasn't alone, the barmaid lost her flirtatious attitude, and glowered defiantly in Mia's direction. Mia simply gave her a wave and a smile. She gave Sirius a gentle tug on his upper arm, saying, "Let's go find a place to sit, Sirius honey, and Miss, if you could please have that ready in a jiff, that's be just fabulous." Sirius gave her a questioning look, but followed her to sit down, nevertheless.

"You have no shame." Mia told Sirius as the two of them found a table in the corner.

"What? That? That was nothing. You should see me when I'm really in action."

"Right. How silly of me."

"All the fan girls would wilt at the sight."

"I'm sure they would."

"I don't like your sarcastic tone."

"Sarcastic! I would never use sarcasm when discussing such a serious topic of that of Sirius Black's fan girls."

"Good." Sirius shot her a smirk, but Mia merely smiled and rolled her eyes, knowing that arguing about him flirting his way into a free meal. Then again, if the flirting got her a free meal as well…she really was astoundingly hungry. She couldn't believe that food had slipped her mind for so long. It was one of her three greatest joys in life… eat, sleep, food…okay, it was two of her three greatest joys in life.

"Oh. My. God. I. Am. So. Hungry." Sirius seemed to read her mind and voiced the every growing obsession she had on food during the current time.

Mia could only nod meagerly in agreement, for even speaking would take far too much effort.

In what seemed like days to Mia, the barmaid finally came over to the two of them.

"Well, here you are Mister Black. Something to…spice up," she grinned flirtatiously, "your night."

Mia seemed to notice that she had regained some of her swagger, probably realizing that her and Sirius weren't actually together. Well, they were together, but not _together_ together. Oh, you know what I mean.

"And of course, some food for the trip back. Also, I snuck in some treacle tart just for you Sirius. I know it's your favorite." The girl batted her eyelashes in what Mia thought was far to forward. If she had any food in her stomach, she'd most likely barf.

Rising at the words "treacle tart", Sirius bounced up from his hunger induced catatonic stupor and grabbed the bag of food, practically taking off the arms of the barmaid.

All manners entirely forgotten, Sirius dove into the bag. Taking out some treacle tart, his eyes widened in desire as he took one bite…two bites…three bites…his expression slowly became less demented with each bit. As Sirius regained some control, he slowed his eating, but didn't stop, just enough to say thanks to the looking-somewhat-disgusted barmaid.

Grabbing the party supplies, Sirius took Mia hand and pulled her to the door. Walking outside, Sirius took a left at the first stop.

Mia, who had willingly let Sirius pull her along thus far, stopped.

"Sirius we're going the wrong way!"

"No. We're not."

"Sirius. Hogwarts is right up there. It's a huge castle. You can't miss. We have to go this way."

"I know a better way."

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><p><strong>AN: Chapter 3 yo!<strong>

**Tell me what you thought! I need some reviews...it's literally killing me. Help a girl out. What do you think of Mia? Sirius? Shanti? James? Claribel? Anyone! Is this all horrible? Is it awesome? Let me know! REVIEW! **

**thank you**

**i'm otter**

**noelleB**


	4. And the Annual Marauder's

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to my bff Jo.**

**This chapters full title is...And the annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party...**

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><p>"So you're telling me that there are several secret passageways out of Hogwarts that you, James, Peter, and Remus have discovered."<p>

"Yes. I am."

"And you never told me about any of them!"

"The situation has never arisen in which we would have to use one with you. Until today, that is."

Mia huffed.

Sirius looked at her. "Give me a break. We can't go letting you girls know each and every Marauder secret. That would be against the code." Sirius told her vehemently.

Mia rolled her eyes but didn't further the discussion.

"So…where exactly is this no-so-secret passageway?"

"Well, the one that we are going to use is in the bottom of Honey dukes."

"Don't tell me. Us getting through is going to depend once again on you buttering up some chick."

"If you would describe Ambrosius Flume as a chick, then yes."

Mia and Sirius walked into an empty Honeydukes. Sirius gasped. He grabbed Mia's arm and pulled her into a corner of the room.

"Sirius! That was completely unnecessary."

"Shhhhhhhh." Sirius scolded her in a whisper and wrapped his hand around her mouth, looking around the room. Underneath the hand of Sirius, the mouth of Mia was locked in a scowl.

Discovering that their entrance went unnoticed by the plump old man lazily sitting at the counter, Sirius whispered, "We've never actually used this passage when the store was actually open…well, at least without the cloooaa…never mind. Anyway we'll have to sneak downstairs into the cellar. There's a trapdoor, which is usually under a few boxes of sweets. Anyway, on the count of three we'll move, as quietly as possible, toward the door. Actually, maybe it will be best is we crawl to the door...Ouch! You bit me."

Sirius had removed his hand from Mia's mouth at lightning speed. "Sirius, do you honestly thing a door moving on it's own account and two teenagers slithering across the floor will attract zero attention. One of us will have put on a distraction." Mia put a hand to her chin, thinking.

"Look, I'll go tell him that I'm looking for some cockroach clusters, they are way on the other side of the room. He will automatically go over there to show me the sweets, and while he does this, you will be opening the door to the cellar. I will pretend to be interested in the sweets for all of three seconds before quickly bolting toward the cellar door, which you will be holding open. Okay, you know the plan?" Mia said all of this very fast, without giving a single glance toward Sirius. Now that she was finished she looked at him.

Sirius looked at her astoundingly. "What?" he finally asked, realizing that Mia was waiting for some sort of acknowledgement.

Mia sighed, "Just open the door when I look at you, okay?"

Sirius nodded his head.

"Good boy." Mia patted him on the head before she straightened up and walked over to the counter. "Excuse me, sir, I was hoping you could help me find some cockroach clusters. My dad just loves those, and his birthday's next week!"

"They're right this way Miss…"

Mia looked at Sirius, who hastened to the cellar door, opening it slowly. He slowly sneaked inside, praying for no squeaking noises. Suddenly, something – or someone – crashed into him, sending both him and his attacker rolling down a flight of stairs.

BOOM! CRASH! BOOM! CRASH! THUD!

"WHAT WAS THAT? WHO'S HERE? Miss, where'd you go? MISS?" Sirius heard the now-not-so-peaceful storeowner.

"Sirius, you're on top of me." the squished voice of Mia snuck up from under Sirius's arm.

"I wouldn't want to be anyplace else, love."

"SIRIUS! Now is not the time! Get off!"

"But there will be time later, right?"

"MOVE!"

"Moving."

Sirius quickly got to his feet, dragging Mia with to the middle of the darkened room.

"Great, now where is it? Lumos." He said, lighting his wand. "There we are. Excellent." Sirius pushed aside two cardboard boxes. Below them a distinct square could be seem on the floor. Sirius adjusted the revealed door, to make an opening. Climbing through first, he offered his hand to Mia.

"Sirius, I'm not so sure about this." Mia's apprehension leaked through her speech.

A light streamed through the room, as the door to the cellar was opened again. "Who's down there?"

"Would you rather be caught and spend the rest of your life in a candy store as Flume's slave?" Sirius said this very softly and very fast.

Mia quickly took the hand of Sirius, and, together, the two of them plunged into darkness.

* * *

><p>"I can't <em>believe<em> you left them _sleeping_ on the _train_!"

Lily Evans was not happy.

"I tried to wake them up!"

Lily Evans was angry.

"Did you shake their bloody eyes out? Did you douse them in ice-cold water? Did you slap them across the face? There are ways of waking people up nowadays."

"We're sorry, Lily. We just completely forgot with all the party excitement and everything." Shanti tried to reason with the fiery redhead.

Lily fumed. "The party! Is that all anyone cares about? I really shouldn't even being allowing this. How on earth did Potter talk me into this? A party on the first night back! It's ridiculous! Something is bound to go wrong. We'll all get caught. You'll all be expelled, and I'll lose Head Girl."

"Nice to know your Headship goes above our enrollment, Lily. At least you have your priorities straight."

A rather wearied Megara Rivera entered the conversation.

"Guys, just calm down. Lily, no one is getting expelled, and no one is losing his or her Head title. It's just a little back-to-school party that the guys wanted to throw in order to celebrate our last year at Hogwarts. We're supposed to be having fun. I'm sure Mia and Sirius are on there way back to school as we speak. There's nothing to worry about."

Claribel, ever the voice of reason, led other three down the corridor. The feast had dismissed a half-hour ago. The First Years were in bed. Everything was calm. The clicking of the girls' shoes was the only thing heard. They climbed until they reached the seventh floor corridor and stopped across from the statue of Barnabas the Barmy.

"Okay, now what did James say that we have to 'need'?" Claribel asked the girls, befuddled.

"He said, 'A perfect party room'." Lily replied dutifully.

"Oh, yeah." Claribel replied sheepishly. The girls walked past the wall three consecutive times, stating exactly what they 'needed'."

Suddenly, on their third walk by, a door appeared on the wall. Unsurprised, Shanti reached forward, barely hiding her inner delight and excitement. Opening the door the girls, the girls found a surprise.

Inside the room, there had to be more than one hundred people. People of every House. There were Gryffindors, of course. There were Hufflepuffs, as to be expected. There were Ravenclaws; normally they were too stuck up to join Gryffindor parties. There was even, oh God, _Slytherins_. Music blared from a sound system on the far side of the room. A huge table was set up to the side with every food that had been offered at the feast and much more, including a drinks table filled with butterbeers, pumpkin juice, some unrecognizable drinks, and a soon-to-be-if-not-already-spiked punch. In the center of the vast room was a giant pool, complete with diving board and slide. Many students had stripped down to only their undergarments and were swimming in said pool. Other things in the room included a muggle pool table, which was now occupied by a couple snogging rather enthusiastically, a muggle basketball hoop, which several students were chucking the ball at rather angrily, and a karaoke stage, where a girl was singing rather, no _completely_, horribly.

"This is _little_?" Lily asked astonished. She was in shock. This was it. Her career as Head Girl was short. It's been a good time…

"This party is fucking awesome!" a girl in her bra and short Hogwart's skirt came up to the three girls, whipping her hair across and spattering the girls with water. "Cannonball!" the girl ran toward the water, grabbed her legs to her stomach, and jumped into the pool, making a giant splash.

"Oh my gosh! Thank the Lord that you lot are finally here. It's been a monstrosity." A vexed looking Mia pushed through the raging crowd to reach her friends. "Lily, are you all right? You look like you just had a heart attack."

"I think I just did." Lily whispered, clenching her arms to her chest as her dilated eyes observed the crazed atmosphere.

"Hey! James, look who decided to join the party, gracing us with their presence – the lovely seventh year ladies of Gryffindor tower." Sirius Black also managed his way to the entrance, followed by a James Potter. "Just when I thought our annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party party couldn't get any better."

"Annual what?" Meg asked, arousing from her disbelief at finding half of Hogwarts within the Room of Requirement.

"The annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party, silly."

"Is he already drunk?" Meg inquired of James.

"No idea. He just got here, but he and Mia brought the drinks so…"

"Nah, he's just on a sugar high from eating about twenty treacle tarts." Mia informed them.

"Wait, _Is he already DRUNK? _ Is there _alcohol _at this party?" Lily, coming out of her trance at finding such a wild party, turned to James with fire in her eyes.

James gulped.

Mia stepped up to console her friend, feeling responsible, as she had been one of the two to bring alcohol to the party. "Lily, calm down. It's not like there's never been an alcoholic beverage before in this school. Besides, the whole point of a party tonight is to celebrate the last day of summer with the whole annual…"

"The annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party!"

"Yeah, what Sirius said…"

Lily visibly seemed to loosen up a bit.

"Come on, Lils, we are going to have fun tonight. You here me? Tonight is the start of our seventh year, the best year yet. We are going to rule this school. We are going to rock our classes. Ace those bloody exams. Get kickarse jobs. And get fit boyfriends to boot. All of this is going to start with having some fun _tonight_." Mia finished her speech grinning, trying will all her might to get Lily to…

"Oh, all right. Let's have some fun."

Lily let down her hair. Literally, it had been in a ponytail beforehand.

Her four roommates cheered.

"Let's go dance!" Shanti grabbed Claribel's hand and together the two of them made their way to the dance floor, which seemed to be the place where the music was coming from.

"Good. Now that that's settled, I want to go eat some food. One measly burger does not fill this kid up." Mia said and made her way to the buffet, Sirius trailing after her.

"Sorry, Lily. About the alcohol, I mean. And the size of the party. I honestly thought it would just be a few of us, but once word got out it spread pretty quickly…" James looked at Lily helplessly.

"Whatever, Potter, I'll talk to you tomorrow during rounds. Right now, I am going to have…_fun_." Lily walked over to the edge of the pool, pulling a not-so-thrilled Meg behind her.

"Well, I guess that could've been worse." James said.

"Talking to yourself, now. You know, they say that's the first step to someone going mad."

James turned around. Standing behind him, grinning, was Remus Lupin.

"Shut up, Moony. You're just jealous of the badge."

"Yes, because I was hoping for countless hours more of responsibility during my last year at Hogwarts. Congrats to you, mate, for earning that honor."

"Hey, I happen to like this position."

"Only because this position will put you near Lily for all of this year."

"That thought never occurred to me."

"Of course it didn't, and Sirius isn't behind us as we speak, flirting with Mia in some sort of embarrassing manner."

Turning around, James saw that Sirius was indeed talking rather exuberantly to Mia, food in his mouth and a drink in his hand, while he was leaning rather precariously on the buffet table. Mia looked only half interested in what Sirius was saying when, suddenly, the leg by which Sirius was leaning collapsed, sending Sirius to the ground. On top of him fell some pumpkin pie and a couple chicken legs. This sent Mia off. She burst into laughter at the sight of him, clutching her sides. Sirius looked up at her. He grabbed a fallen piece of pie and threw it Mia. The pie hit her unexpectedly, smack, right in the face. Her shocked expression took little time to transform into anger, and she lunged for Sirius, who was still on the ground, two cupcakes in her hand. The two continued to wrestle in a dramatic food fight until sliding to the edge of the pool. What happened next was highly predictable. In an attempt to push Sirius into the pool, Mia lost her balance. Finally, the two crashed into the surface of the pool. Seconds later, they emerged, soaking wet but still covered with frosting.

James looked back at Remus.

"Are we getting that predictable?"

Remus just looked at him.

James sighed.

"Well, nothing like a party to spice things up."

* * *

><p>"What did you do that for?"<p>

"Me! You're the one who pulled us in."

"Yeah, well you're the stupid get who decided to fall on the floor, knocking food all over himself."

"It was an accident!"

"Yes, and you throwing pie at my face was also an accident."

"Oh no, that was actually on purpose."

Mia growled at Sirius. Jumping on top of him, she dunked him under the water, repeatedly, letting him resurface several more times, then pushing him under again.

"How many times in one day can you get a girl wet, Sirius?"

"Too many to count, love." Sirius said with a wink, "But this is probably a question that should not have been said so loudly."

Realizing the innuendo, Mia blushed, noticing several swimmers looking at them. They had made quite a spectacle, she decided. Sporadic food fights that result into pool crashing tended to make good party gossip. Not liking being the center of attention, Mia descended into the water.

Across the room, a cheery Claribel laughed at the sight of her two friends. Twirling around, she and Shanti were having a ball on the dance floor.

"Looking good tonight, ladies," Will Abbot, known Hufflepuff charmer, approached the two girls.

"Are you referring to our mad dance skills or stunning sex appeal?" Shanti asked, smiling as she shaked her hips in Will's direction.

"Both," Will replied with a grin moving right up against Shanti, who dragged Claribel along with her.

As the song switched to a slower one, Will asked, "Now which one of these lovely ladies can I have the pleasure of this dance?"

Timing it perfectly, Remus appeared behind Claribel, "Dance with me?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Of course," she replied, blushing, yet smiling charmingly.

Shanti bumped her friend as the two headed towards a corner of the room, winking as Claribel turned around and whistling when Claribel blushed further. This time when turning around, Claribel stuck her tongue out at her tireless friend.

Shanti giggled and turned back to Will.

"Guess you'll have to deal with little old me."

"A price that I will pay with pleasure."

Shanti smiled, sneaking her hands around Will's neck, and the two began to sway back and forth to the music.

It definitely felt nice to be held by a boy again, Shanti decided as she felt Will move along beside her. The summer had been far to drag for her, and she needed this party just to feel alive again. Spending half the holiday in India with her family was completely dull, with only her ability to annoy the shit out of Nikesh to entertain herself. Dating opportunities had also been nada, both in India and when she returned home. Of course, she was partially to blame for this. After all, she spoke fluent Indian, so a language barrier would not have stopped her from roping a boy there. As for in England, every bloke that she saw was just far to bland to catch her attention. This summer was one for the books, or more accurately, the non-books. Ever summer since she was thirteen, she had had a summer boyfriend. Now, all of a sudden, she finds herself incapable of finding a suitable summer romance. She desperately wanted to talk with her friends about these insecurities. Claribel would come up with the best excuse for her uninterest in the opposite sex. Lily would comfort her in that motherly way that only Lily could. Mia would make her laugh about the whole ordeal. Meg…well, Meg would probably tell her she was being stupid for putting so much emphasis on her purpose in life on men. Oh Meg, ever the feminist of the group, Shanti knew that when love finally hit Meg, it would hit her hard. Just like love hit her hard when she finally found it…

Shanti lifted her head from Will's shoulder, looking up. Why she did, she didn't know. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe she was just thinking about him. Maybe that was all that it took to draw him near her.

He was standing by the pool, shirt halfway unbuttoned. Two girls stood on either side of him, of this she was not surprised. He was indeed attractive. He also had that dark, mysterious vibe to him that drew many girls near him. His dark hair was longer than it had been last spring. He had grown a couple inches, and he had muscled out quite a bit. He looked older. He was actually several months younger than she, but he could pass for a couple years older than she, standing at a towering five-foot-nothing. His eyes met hers immediately, a dark brown, speckled with bits of grey: eyes that had enthralled her even more than those of his brother, whose eyes were the fascination of many the female population of Hogwarts.

They simply studied each other for several moments. Then, he nodded towards the door, shaking off the two girls on either side and exited the room. Politely excusing herself from Will, Shanti followed him out the door.

Walking into the corridor, she saw him turn left at the end of the hallway. She followed him. When she turned the corner, she saw that he had stopped and was now leaning against the wall.

"Hey." she said, looking at him closely for the first time in months.

"Hey." he said back.

"So…um, how was your summer?"

"Dull."

"Yeah…me too."

"Really?"

"Yep."

Shanti felt like the awkward tension in the air was palpable at this point.

"So…um, how were things at home? Without Sirius there?"

"Is that why you came out here to talk to me? Worried about my precious elder brother?" his tone was cold, but many other emotions leaked out from behind it.

Shanti sighed. "No. I'm sorry, Regulus. I was just looking for a topic to talk about."

"Is there really anything to talk about?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Then why'd you come out here."

"Gods, I don't know, Regulus. I've just missed you, all right. It's been a long summer. We broke up, and now I can't seem to find a single guy worthy of my admiration. You, on the other hand, seem to be having no problem in that department – a redhead on your left arm, a brunette on your right."

"That's a little hypocritical coming from you. Wouldn't you say? Weren't you just getting cozy on the dance floor with that idiot Puffer Abbot?"

"Will's a perfectly nice guy. He was kind enough to ask me to dance. I accepted. It's not like I had anyone else to dance with, or anyone to offend if I did dance with some other bloke." She said this very harshly, her dark eyes gleaming with hot anger that were brewing up tears.

"Do you Gryffindors always have to be this melodramatic?"

"Yes. It's a required House rule. Do you Slytherins always have to be such wankers?"

"Yes. It's a required House rule."

He smiled at her. It was when he smiled that she truly saw the resemblance between Regulus and Sirius. They both had a tendency to crinkle their eyes a bit, their forehead wrinkling.

She smiled back at him, remembering all the fond memories they had shared together. Hard to believe it had only been last year when they first officially spoke…

"By the way, I missed you too. And it was different without Sirius around. Quieter." He rubbed his face, the hidden anxiety leaking though in a moment of vulnerability.

They heard a bump in the corridor. Sneaking a view into the party hallway they saw a couple embracing in what could only be a heated snogfest. Regulus and Shanti hid as the couple bumped along the hallway, eating each other faces off until the girl, or at least the one with the most hair, detached herself. She grabbed the boy's hand, and they scampered in the opposite direction.

"And to think that used to be us." Regulus said with some bitterness.

"Maybe it still can be."

Regulus looked at her.

She gave a slight shrug of the shoulders.

This was all he needed. He brought his lips crashing down upon hers. With a slight wimper, she brought his head closer to her own, wrapping her delicately painted fingernails in his longer, but still just as soft, hair. Without needing any invitation, his tongue slithered into her mouth, deepening the kiss. They backed up against the corridor wall. Shanti noticed that their height difference had become even more significant. Seeming to read her thoughts, Regulus lifted her up off the ground.

Carrying her bridal-style while still snogging her face off, Regulus opened an empty classroom. Setting her gently down on the first desk in the room, he then proceeded to attack her neck with kisses. From here, Shanti pulled herself closer to him. Deciding that was not enough, Shanti lifted her legs around Regulus's torso, trailing her nails down that unbuttoned chest that had so been bugging her before. Regulus growled. Shanti smirked at him before he once again brought his lips to her mouth. As Shanti set to work on those last three buttons, Regulus found something to do with his hands as he moved them up her thighs, dangerously close to skirt, which had hiked up in the move from corridor to classroom.

This is what she should have been doing all summer, Shanti thought as Regulus swept his tongue across her teeth. What a waste. _Oh well_, Shanti thought, _there's no time like the present to catch up on missed opportunities._

* * *

><p>Completely unaware of the actions of his sister, Nikesh Sunrita was a bit preoccupied with his own love life. He had been searching the party for over an hour. He could not find Maddie if his life depended on it. Nikesh and his girlfriend, Madeleine Lynch, had been dating for over two years now. He had been hoping to meet up with her on the train, yet she was nowhere to be found. Still attempting to reunite with her, he searched the party in vain without a single glance of her.<p>

"Hey, Nike. What's up with you my lost looking friend?" James Potter ambled up to Nike, offering him a drink, which Nikesh took with gratification.

"James, you do realize that my sister's friends and your lot are the only ones who insist on calling me by that wretched nickname?"

"Nike, you do realize that when you hang around us long enough you are only allowed to go by a nickname. Seriously, man, it's about time that you start calling me Prongs."

"James, I have no idea why you even go by Prongs. So why would I call you that?"

"Because, I need a new bff. Sirius is playing in the pool with Mia. Remus is cuddling somewhere on the dance floor with Claribel. And Peter…well I'm not really sure where Pete is."

"Don't you want to go chase Lily around or something?"

"Mate, I'm trying to be a gentleman. When Lily is ready, she will come to me."

Nikesh raised his eyebrows. "You keep thinking that, Potter."

"Man, you are way to uptight. Drink that!" James said, pointing to the full glass in Nikesh's hand. "You'll loosen up a bit."

"Maybe you're right. Since I can't seem to find Maddie anywhere, I might as well enjoy the party." He downed the drink in under ten seconds.

"That's the spirit mate!" James grabbed two more glasses from the drink table, handing one to Nikesh.

Nikesh further observed the party, now with his rather hazy point of view. It seemed that the party had reached full swing, if it hadn't already. The pool was fuller than ever, which most likely had to do with one Sirius Black and Amelia Jones, both of whom had their wide range of admirers in the school. The food table seemed to have been refilled. The drinks table, on the other hand, was approaching empty as the students consumed more and more butterbeer, firewhiskey, and every other unrecognizable drink in a last ditch effort to end the summer on a high – or low depending on how you viewed it. The dance floor had thinned out as couples disappeared into the many corners of the room to have some privacy. A group of kids were playing "Never Have I Ever" with firewhiskey. The lone basketball hoop stood…well alone in the corner of the room.

Nikesh had to hand it to the Marauders. They certainly knew how to throw a party. I guess the right connections and a certain infamy around school allowed a group to do that.

The party was great. He should be enjoying himself right now. Why couldn't he? Where the bloody hell was Maddie? She hadn't even owled him since he left for his summer. They were suppose to meet up today. Okay, maybe he should have tried to owl her more this summer, but she was the one who didn't reply to his last letter. Ugh, why wasn't she here? Did she drop out? No. Transfer? Maybe. But no. But then where the hell was she?

The door to the room opened again, and James, ever the host with the most, turned around to greet whoever had entered. A rumpled looking couple entered the room.

"Maddie?"

The girl's eyes widened guiltily, her jaw dropping.

* * *

><p>Lily Evans was having fun. She was not thinking about how stupid Potter had been to throw a large, alcohol consuming party the day before class started. Lily Evans had let her hair down and was having a good old time.<p>

"Can we leave yet?" a disgruntled looking Meg asked her.

"No."

"Liilllyyy."

"No. We are having fun."

"No, Lily. They're having fun." Meg pointed to the party group at large, waving her hand around. "We, on the other hand, are just sitting here."

"I told Potter that I was going to have fun at his damn party so that's what I'm going to do." Lily told her.

The two Gryffindor ladies were sitting by the edge of the pool, in a couple of lounge chairs. They had already eaten more food than they could imagine, and Lily had already dug out of Meg the most conversation that she was going to get out of her.

"Fine, then. You want to have fun, right?"

"That's kind of the idea."

"Well, Miss Evans, I believe that in order for us to have fun, you are going to have to break some rules." Meg grabbed Lily by the hand and drug her past the drunken pool swimmers and straight to the drink table. "Pick one."

"No!"

"Yep, it's the only way."

"No. It's completely barbaric. Why does today's society insist that the only way to enjoy yourself, to fit in with the crowd, is by drinking? It's not at all attractive! People act like they're completely bonkers for one night, and then they are given the reward of a morning hangover the next day. No. I refuse to take even one sip."

"How noble of you. Lily, I'm not asking that you do ten shots. That would probably kill your petite little body. I'll I'm asking for is one shot of firewhiskey. Please. If you want to have fun, you have to put in a little effort." Meg picked up two shot glasses on the table and held them in front of Lily. "Besides, we are of age. It's not illegal for _us_ to drink it anymore. So, you technically aren't even breaking any rules."

"Hogwarts has a zero tolerance policy."

"Yeah, yeah. Everyone knows that's just for show. Not once in Dumbledore's reign as headmaster has someone been kicked out of school for attending a party."

"This party isn't exactly approved by a member of staff, though. It's not like after a quidditch match."

Meg sighed. "Lily, you should start a debate team. Half the time, I don't know if you're arguing with me, or yourself." Feeling that she needed to drink something just to tolerate Lily any further, Meg downed her shot in a single swallow. She handed the other one to Lily. Lily looked quite resistant, like she was prepared to start arguing again. Then, quite to Meg's surprise, Lily tipped the shot glass back and mirrored Meg's example.

"Did I just see thee Lily Evans, Hogwart's Head Girl Extraordinaire, doing shots?"

Lily jumped and turned around.

"No, I swear, It was just one."

Lily was pleasantly surprised to see the smiling face of Amos Diggory looking down at her. Seeing Lily's reaction to his accusation, Amos laughed.

"Lily, I'm just kidding. Though I am a little surprised to see you at the legendary Marauder Drink's Table." He gave her a playful shove.

"Oh, haha. Meg dragged me over here. She insisted that I needed to loosen up to have fun." Lily turned around to Meg, but she was nowhere to be found. "Meg?"

"While, I agree with Meg that the lovely Miss Evans should indeed have fun at this delightful social gathering, I'm thinking that there are many more ways to get her to loosen up."

"Exactly what I said." Lily smiled at Amos. He really would have been the perfect counterpart for Head Boy. Damn Potter. He must have spiked Dumbledore's pumpkin juice. Really, Amos should have been the one with the badge, title, and privilege of spending all his time with her. Of course, she could find other ways to spend some quality time with Amos…

He seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "These crazy parties aren't exactly my style, but I go just because everyone else does."

"Same here. All my friends were just so excited, but I find it almost unbearable." Lily was delighted to find someone who felt the same way she did about the annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party.

"Hey, do you want to go talk somewhere quieter?"

"Sure. That sounds perfect."

Amos reached for Lily's hand. She gladly took it, and together the two walked toward the door of the Room of Requirement. Quite the ordeal seemed to be happening in the entrance. Ignoring the debacle, Amos guided Lily into the corridor. Lily bumped shoulders with someone as she walked out. Not turning around to see whom it was, Lily quickly hollered, "Sorry!"

Stumbling down the dark corridor laughing with Amos, Lily thought to herself, _this year just might get off to the right start after all_.

* * *

><p>Someone bumped into him from the right, and he caught a quick whiff of strawberry shampoo. Jostled from the movement, James turned to see a bright red head bobbing in the distance. "Sorry!" He heard her voice moments later. Did he just see her leave with<em> Amos Diggory<em>?

"I can't believe you Maddie! All summer and you never told me anything!"

Thrown out of his reverie, James returned his attention to the row before him.

"Nikesh, I can't exactly help the way I feel!"

"Ha, maybe that's true, but it's still not an excuse for stringing me along all this time, letting me find out this way."

"It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I was going to tell you tomorrow. I knew that it wouldn't be right to write something like this in a letter."

"I'm sure the letter would have been beautiful. Dear, Nikesh. I'm sorry, but we're breaking up. By the way, I'm fucking another guy. All my love, Maddie."

"God, why do you have to be such a dick, Nikesh?" She asked him coldly

"Oh, I don't know. Probably because I spent two years of my life dating a slutty little bitch." The words were delivered with malice, and the mark hit hard as the girls eyes boiled over with tears.

_Whoa,_ James thought to himself, _that was low_. James hadn't been to sure on what was happening when Madeleine had entered the Room of Requirement twenty minutes earlier, holing the hand of a sixth year Hufflepuff and looking flushed to boot. Nikesh had taken one look at the couple and automatically assumed the worst. Of course, his thinking had been correct. Madeleine hadn't even tried to deny it. She just sent the Puffer to join his friend so she could talk to Nikesh in 'private'. Nikesh had foolishly denied any request to privacy and resorted to just yelling right in the entrance to the party.

"Hey, James." James heard a monotone voice come from behind him.

"Hi, Megs. What's up?" Grateful for the distraction, James turned toward his friend.

"The decibel level in this room. Honestly, the music is loud enough. The blazing lover's spat isn't making things any better." She gestured toward Nikesh and Madeleine looking annoyed. Now that he thought about it, the couple's –or ex-couple's– uproar was causing quite the commotion. Many people's attention was locked on the dueling duo. James also turned his attention back to the fight.

Madeleine seemed to reach the end of any firing power. She had wilted in some way, tears pouring down her face. Nikesh, upon seeing this, ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head, and quickly exited the room.

Slowly, but surely, the Room of Requirement filtered out; Mia dragging a reluctant Sirius out the door last.

James took one last look at the wrecked room, glad that having a party in the Room of Requirement meant no clean up. Sighing, James couldn't help but think as he left the room, _Thank God this Day is over._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Helloooo lovely Readers! I hope you enjoyed chapter four. It's a bit longer than my previous chapters. My summer has officially started here, so I'm really jazzed to get going on this story. Sooooo, tell me what you thought. Leave a Review! Friend me on facebook! I don't care! I want some feedback.<strong>

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**noelleB**


	5. Cocoa Puff Power and Pernicious Potions

**Disclaimer: It belongs to my bff. Her name is Jo.**

The Great Hall was a dismal scene on the morning following the Annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party.

Remus walked into the hall for breakfast that morning having awoken much earlier than his snoring roommates. It seemed that most of the Hogwarts's upperclassmen had felt the same way as them and were having a much-needed lie in this morning. The four house tables were practically empty, littered with only the few first, second, and third years that had decided to actually make it to class on time today. Remus looked at his watch. That was weird. McGonagall would be handing out schedules to the Gryffindor's in less than ten minutes, and yet there wasn't a single seventh year at the table to receive one.

Taking a glance at the enchanted ceiling, the weather seemed to be reflecting the mood of half the missing students. Clouds roamed about, greying the entire room. Sprinkles of rain could be seen falling from the ceiling before disappearing into nothing.

Realizing that he had no one to sit with, Remus took a seat at the far end of the table. The table was inundated with a delicious assortment of breakfast goods. Smoked sausages were piled high, glistening with grease. A stack of pancakes sat waiting for the taking, only to be replaced by another when Remus grabbed them for himself. He also helped himself to some juicy bacon and a healthy serving of hash browns before setting his plate down in front of him. He saw that something new had been added to the breakfast table this year. In front of him sat several boxes of Muggle cereal. From his vantage point, Remus could see that several first years chose to take advantage of this. A little girl was opening a box of what looked like Cocoa Puffs, smiling as she poured them into a waiting bowl. Remus grinned as he observed the girl, who was now shoving the balls of chocolate into her mouth with great relish. Someone did not get to eat sugary cereal at home. That much was obvious.

"Where is everybody?" A perplexed looking Lily Evans drew Remus's attention away from the cereal monger first years.

Remus shrugged. "Most likely they're either trying to sleep off a dreadful hangover or trying to steal some Pepper-Up Potion from Madam Pompfrey."

Lily sighed as she sat down across from Remus. "I just knew no good could come from having that party. I mean, honestly, it's the first day of classes and half the school is dead in their beds." Lily too decided pancakes were the way to go this morning, but she eyed the box of Coca Puffs with some longing.

Remus consoled her, "I'm sure people will be coming around any moment, nothing to worry too much about. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy eating my hearty breakfast so that I can also enjoy rubbing in Padfoot's face when he walks into the first class ten minutes late."

"Talking about my face again, Moony. Can't say I blame you. It is a popular subject, especially among the fan girls." Sirius entered the Great Hall with fashion, winking at a second year Hufflepuff who had been eyeing the elder Gryffindors. "But what's this about you doubting my appearance at breakfast. It is, of course, my favorite meal of the day."

Sirius took a seat down at the table next to Remus, eyeing the food spread. He picked up the box of Cocoa Puffs and shook it. "What the blood hell is this?" He turned the box around in his hands, observing it from several angles.

Lily laughed. "It's cereal, Sirius. It's a pretty popular breakfast food among Muggles."

Sirius looked up from the box to Lily, intrigued, "Fascinating."

"Are you going to try some?" Lily asked, bemused.

"Yes yes yes."

Sirius looked at the box. He turned it around. He shook it.

"But Red," he finally asked, "how?"

Lily and Remus laughed.

Deciding that it would be best to throw the poor kid a bone, Lily answered, "Tell you what Sirius, let's make a deal. I'll show you how to eat your Cocoa Puffs, if you don't call me Red the rest of this week."

"But…Reeed."

"That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

Sirius pouted.

"For heaven's sake Sirius, it's only a week."

Sirius sighed.

"Sirius." Lily's voice was firm.

"Allllriiight… show me… Show me! Show me! Show me!"

"Settle down child it's not that complicated."

As Lily instructed Sirius on the proper way to eat cereal, Remus noticed that several other members of Gryffindor's seventh year had decided to wake from their slumber.

James Potter was making his way to the Gryffindor table, followed by three girls. All four of them looked utterly exhausted.

"Good morning," Remus greeted the stragglers cheerfully.

"Says who?" The meager reply came from a raccoon-eyed Meg Rivera, who had attempted to cover up her hangover by skillfully using eyeliner, eye shadow, and mascara. She had used her five minutes in the bathroom to apply said makeup, leaving no time whatsoever for hair or properly straightening her clothing. Her normally clean appearance was downright ragged, yet she still seemed to rock the look, as only a truly attractive person can. There was something about a hot mess that called men's attention. In fact, Remus noticed that several older male students were sending covert glances in her direction. Meg sat down next to Lily, slumped her shoulders dramatically, and grabbed an apple from the table.

Claribel and Shanti also took seats on Lily's side of the table, while James slumped into place next to a chocolate inundated Sirius. "Well, I think that the Annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party can officially be declared a success. Don't you agree, Prongs?" Sirius exclaimed, looking toward his drowsy best friend.

James, who had his head resting on his hand and his eyes closed, looked up at the mention of his nickname. "What did you say?"

"The party?"

"What about it?"

"Shall we declare success?" Sirius spoke with such enthusiasm that he shook his bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

"Sure, mate, whatever floats your boat."

"Yes!"

Jumping up from his seat Sirius yelled, "SUCCESS!"

As heads turned toward the far end of the Gryffindor table, Sirius sat back down. Smiling, he picked up his bowl of chocolate and milk and continued eating gleefully. Unfortunately, he would be the only one to do so because at that moment the breakfast food disappeared off the table as the Heads of Houses handed out schedules.

James, who had been reaching for some smoked sausages, groaned loudly and banged his head on the table repeatedly.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter, you might to more damage to your already impaired brain." Lily informed James with a smirk.

James looked up at Lily, frowning. "Well, Evans, what's done is done, and, while we're on the subject of impaired brains, may I ask who was the bloody idiot who decided to let Padfoot have chocolate before nine o'clock in the morning." He gestured toward Sirius in a flourish.

Sirius, who was still carrying his bowl of Cocoa Puffs, was now skipping the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. As he gallivanted dramatically, he peaked in between the students shoulder saying, "Chocolaty goodness. Yum. Yum. Yum. And for Breakfast! Aren't Ya Jealous?" After he spoke, he then took a giant spoonful of said chocolaty goodness and munched in their faces.

Lily made a face somewhere between disgust, amusement, and embarrassment as Sirius ambled up to her.

"Thanks for introducing me to this Muggle marvel, Red. This is the best breakfast ever!"

"Sirius!"

"Oops, sorry, I meant Lily."

"Better."

Sirius sat his bowl down on the table, where it disappeared. Then he bounced down the aisle until he bumped into Professor McGonagall. "Schedule, Mr. Black?"

She asked, handing Sirius a course list.

"Thanks, Minnie, you're a doll!"

Sirius proceeded to skip past the stiff professor and into the Entrance Hall.

James, raising one eyebrow, turned back to Lily, who shrugged apologetically.

"How was I supposed to know that he shouldn't have chocolate in the morning?"

"Lily, it's Sirius."

"Yeah, I probably should have thought that one through a bit more," Lily admitted weakly, "and unfortunately he'll most likely still call me Red for the rest of the week."

"Most likely. But that's besides the point. A chocolate induced Sirius is far worse than an alcohol induced Sirius." James said while shaking his head.

"Why is that?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"He can keep the alcohol down."

"Ugh, gross. So those four bowls of Cocoa Puff he just ate are…"

"Coming right back up."

"Ew."

"I'd give it an hour, max."

"Remind me not to sit anywhere near him first class."

"Ditto."

Lily looked over at her friends, who were now discussing the class schedule with Remus. Feeling left out of their conversation, she decided that she should try to engage her weary Head counterpart in a discussion. It was for the best. They did have to work together this year. She turned back to James, seeking a topic. She decided to play off what they were just talking about.

"Speaking of alcohol induced, would you declare the Annual Marauder's Last Night Before Last First Day of School Party a success? Or was it too big of a success?" Lily looked at the disheveled James knowingly, giving him a scan from his messy hair down to his untied shoelaces.

Reading her well, James said in defiance, "Hey, my appearance has nothing to due with alcohol. I'll have you know that I had nothing stronger than butterbeer last night."

"Then why do you look like shit?"

James laughed, "Because I had to stay and watch Padfoot and Mia amble out of the Room of Requirement at four in the morning. If you were running on three hours of sleep, you'd look shitty too."

"Four in the moring?" Lily asked him.

"Yeah. I acted the chaperone. The designated flier, if you will. There was no way those two were getting back to the common room on there own."

"How very thoughtful of you."

"I have my moments."

"You do?"

"Why the tone of surprise? I felt rather responsible for them. Though, considering they were the ones to bring the alcohol to the party, maybe I should have just left them there. Then we wouldn't have to deal with chocolate induced, sleep deprived Sirius this morning." James sighed bitterly.

"I was going to ask. Why isn't Sirius in a worse state this morning? He should have a hangover, and he had as much sleep as you," Lily pointed out wisely.

"Well," James thought out his answer, "I don't thing he was actually that drunk last night. Him and Mia seemed to be on their own personal high. Although, as for the lack of sleep, I bet he crashes before noon. A kid can only run on chocolate for so long. After then, I'll be around to drag him to classes."

"You and Sirius have a very weird friendship."

"Eh, what else is new? I figure that if I were to pass out before noon, Sirius would do the same for me."

Rolling her eyes, Lily said, "That logic is completely mental. The loyalty on the other hand is definitely admirable."

James's eyes rose abruptly, "Do my ears deceive me? Or was that almost a compliment upon fair maiden's lips?"

"Don't let your head get too big, Potter, or you won't be able to fit it over your shirt."

"Wow, the first big headed joke of the year, and classes haven't even started yet." James smiled at Lily, who rolled her eyes.

Sighing accordingly, Lily looked up to see that Professor McGonagall had reached the seventh years. "Good morning, Professor." Lily greeted her with a wide smile.

"To you as well, Miss Evans," the tight-lipped woman replied, handing Lily a schedule. "Also, Congratulations on Head Girl. No one deserves it more. Same to you, Mr. Potter. It's been quite some time since two Gryffindors were names Heads. I trust that the two of you will be fit for the job. Working together?"

There was nothing harsh about these words, yet Lily and James both knew there were hidden connotations behind them. They nodded at McGonagall assuring.

"Good."

After McGonagall left, James leaned over the table toward Lily, "So, what's our first class of our last year of Hogwarts?"

"Do you have to keep pointing out that it's our last year? Aren't you the least bit nervous to be out of school?" Lily asked.

"Of course I'm nervous! Why do you think that I keep saying that it's our last year? These are monumental moments happening here. Now, come on, open the schedule."

James waited anxiously…

…

…

"Well, are you going to open it, or not!"

"Sure, I just like seeing you sweat it out."

"That's cruel, Evans."

…

"LILY!"

Lily laughed. "Ok, calm down, our first class is…"

"Potions! Ugh, you have got to be kidding me." Claribel interjected from down the table.

The other seventh years had received their schedules too. "Great. Just Great. Let's start off with the one class I'm doomed to fail. This is the class that is going to determine whether or not I get into Healing School!"

"Claire, you'll be fine." Lily assured her friend.

"No, Miss 'Professor Sluggy's precious potions protégée', I'm not going to be fine."

"While your potions may not be up to par Claribel, your alliterations are superb." James complimented. "What else do we have today?" James peered, leaning toward Lily's schedule.

Lily leaned away, "Don't you have your own schedule?"

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"You do not have a schedule?"

"I do not have a schedule."

"You don't have a schedule."

"That is correct."

"You were just given one! How could you possibly lose it?"

"I was not given one."

"You weren't given one?"

"That is correct."

"HEY! SHUT IT!" a third voice cut in.

James and Lily turned toward the speaker.

Megara Rivera had finally gained some life in her eyes, "As much as I'm loving this completely redundant conversation, can we please make our way to Potions. Unless, you lot want to be late to our first class of our last year at school."

As the group gathered their stuff and made their way toward the dungeons, James whispered to Lily, "See, I'm not the only one who does it."

Late.

_I cannot be fucking late, not today._

_Hahahahahaha._

_Not that kinda late, perve. _

_I am not a whore._

_**But you are rather insane.**_

_I'm not insane!_

_**Arguing with yourself in your head? Do you do that often?**_

_No, I do not! I don't have arguments with myself!_

_**Then what do you call this?**_

…

_**Arguing with yourself in your head AND losing. That's when you know you're insane.**_

_Bloody hell. I'm so fucking late._

The Hogwart's Potion Classroom was like other Hogwart's classrooms in that it was not like any other Hogwart's classroom. Set in the dungeons, it gave a whole new level to dreary. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made from stone, like much of the castle. There was very minimal lighting in the room, bathing the room in a color that can only be described as grey.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this room?" Claribel said as the six teenagers meandered into the dismal setting.

"Only like…"

"Once or twice…"

"Each class…"

"Every year…"

"Since we were first years."

Claribel held up her hands in an 'I'm innocent' gesture, "Okay, okay. I guess I do hate on potions a lot."

"Not your fault. Potions such." Meg told her calmly.

"Hey! I like potions!"

"Of course you do, Lily." Shanti rolled her eyes. Mornings did no good for her ability to tolerate enthusiasm for potions.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

In prevention of an early morning argument, James interrupted, "Hey, can we find some seats before they're all taken. The last thing I want is to be stuck with some Slytherin as a potions partner."

"Ditto." Claribel agree, grabbing Remus and dragging him toward an empty table near the front of the classroom, Claribel saying as they went, "I am determined to pass this class with at least an E, Remus Lupin, and by Merlin, you are going to help me."

Shanti and Meg also found an empty table, though more toward the middle of the classroom.

"Can I…" Lily turned toward James, mouth open, to ask him to sit with her only to see him pulling out a chair.

"Wouldn't want it any other way, Lily."

Lily smiled. "You're just saying that because you don't want to be covered in Sirius's Cocoa Puffs halfway through class."

James laughed, "Ah, you've spotted my alterior motive."

"You're honestly not that clever, Potter."

James put his hand to his chest, "Ouch. You wound me, Evans."

Lily opened her mouth to reply but was distracted as a man on a sugar high bashed into the potions room.

"Greetings, my fellow Hogwartians!"

"Oh Merlin," muttered James.

Sirius strutted down the rows of tables until he reached the one where Lily and James sat. Placing his books down he said, "Red, you are in my seat."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, my bad. I mean, Lily, you are in my seat."

"No…Sirius, this is my seat."

Sirius's jaw dropped dramatically. "Prongs, tell Evans that this is my seat."

"Pads, I'm afraid that I cannot do that." James replied solemnly.

"Well, why the bloody hell not?" asked Sirius.

"It would make absolutely no sense to pick you over Lily. She's got the brains, she's got the beauty, and, quite frankly, she smells a lot better than you do." James told Sirius with a bitter nod.

Sirius pouted.

Turning around, Sirius made his way to the back of the room where one last table remained untaken.

"Hard to argue with that. I guess I'll just walk back here…to the losers' table…in the back of the room…all by myself." Sirius's rambling became fainter as he drifted away from the Head duo.

"Thanks, James." Lily said as they turned around having watched Sirius lay his head down on his table in defeat.

"For what? Telling Sirius that you smell better than him? Because that wasn't a compliment, Lily, that was just fact. But, you could take it as a compliment. Really, you do smell good. Like strawberries."

James leaned closer to Lily.

"What are you…" Lily began.

James sniffed.

"…doing?"

James leaned back into his chair.

"Yup, like strawberries."

Before Lily could reply, a voice spoke up loudly from the front of the room as Professor Slughorn decided to start the class.

"Good morning, seventh years. Welcome to your final year of Hogwarts, and to your final year of potions. By the end of this year, all of you shall have mastered many of the fine arts of potion making. From Amortentia to Felix Felicis, we will be studying and making all possible potions that may appear on your N.E.W.T. exam in the spring."

While he spoke, the rotund Professor made his way to the blackboard. Flipping it around, he grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote two words "Polyjuice Potion."

Members of the class who were still paying attention straightened in their seats, tapping their dazing counterparts and looking toward the board excitedly.

"Yes, for the first month of the school year, we will be making Polyjuice Potion. An advanced brew that when prepared properly allows a human drinker to take the form of another human," Slughorn paused for a moment before continuing, "As some of you may have noticed, Polyjuice has been appearing more and more in present conditions. The ability to transform oneself, or conceal oneself, is easily taken advantage of."

Lily glanced at James, wondering what the Professor was talking about. She failed to make eye contact. James was peering ahead fixedly, his expression serious. Turning to her other side, she made eye contact with Shanti, who also looked confused. Lily shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she as well had no idea.

"Our purpose in making the potion is purely academic. These supplies are not easy to come by, and I highly recommend not making this potion unless you must under your eventual occupational circumstances. With that, I ask that you take out your Advanced Potion Making textbooks and turn to page 287 where you will find instructions on how to begin your potion."

As students opened their books, a commotion was heard from the back of the classroom as a girl with tangled brown hair crashed through the door.

"I'm so so so sorry, Professor. I know I'm soooo late." Amelia Jones apologized profusely as she made her way toward the front of the classroom.

"Ah, Miss Jones, I knew that we were missing someone. I'll let you slide this one time, on the account that it is the first day back. Please take a seat at the back with Mr. Black." Remembering something else, Slughorn said, "Oh, and class, please make friends with the person seated next to you, for they shall be your final potions' partner."

Mia sighed with relief, realizing that she wasn't to be punished…

"Wait, sit with Black, you said, Sir?"

"Yes, Miss Jones. Sirius Black. Perhaps you've met him?"

Not amused by the Professor's sense of humor, Mia turned to face her doom, who was sitting at the very back table with a maniacal grin on his face.

_Eff my existence_, Mia thought as she dawdled to the back of the classroom, a look of unease plastered on her face.

Interpreting Mia's expression correctly, Sirius asked, "Why you no happy to be with Sirius?" he pouted for the umpteenth time that day.

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Don't even make that face, Sirius. Everyone knows that you are the worst potions' partner."

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are: you never pay attention, make your partner do all the work, and mess up the potion when you actually bother putting in an ingredient. How James put up with you all these years I will never know."

"You make me sound horrible."

Mia fixed him with a steady stare.

"Fine. From now on, I am going to be the most fabulous potion's partner you will ever have. Now, what page is this potion on anyway?"

"How should I know? I was late. Remember? Oh, and only gay guys say "fabulous". Should I be questioning your relationship with James? We've always suspected there might be more."

"SIRIUS AND I ARE NOT GAY TOGETHER!"

Without even turning around, James Potter had shouted this across the room.

"Does that kid have extrasensory hearing or something?" Mia asked Sirius in a whisper.

"Only when you question his sexual preferences. Although, I think that it's pretty clear that the boy's had his sight set on a particularly vivacious red-headed female for quite some time now."

"Very true, yet this does not really answer my question. I was implying that _you_ were gay."

Mia leaned across her table to view what page the Ravenclaws in front of them were on. Flipping to the page, she began to gather what they would need to start the potion. She set up the cauldron as Sirius replied.

"Love, you know as well as I do that I prefer…let's say, your type."

Mia read through the list of needed ingredients. Not looking up she said, "Yeah, yeah. You keep on giving those fan girls false hope."

"I am not gay. I swear. I'm straight as a circle."

"My point exactly."

Mia made her way up to the potions cabinet to pick some knotgrass and leeches. Sirius followed behind her like a lapdog.

"What do you mean, 'My point exactly'?" Sirius questioned.

Mia opened the cabinet and grabbed what they needed and turned back around

"Sirius, circles are round. Not a straight edge to them."

"What?"

Sirius looked confused.

…

"Oh…"

"Yep." Mia smirked at him as she began laying out her ingredients for today.

"Well, I just put a hand in my mouth, didn't I?"

Setting up their cauldron, Mia rolled her eyes.

"Sirius the expression is _foot_ in your mouth." She told him sardonically.

"Oops, I did it again. Damn. My bad." Dejected, Sirius grabbed Mia's open book.

"So, what are we making today?"

"Polyjuice Potion." Mia sighed as she placed the cauldron, which now was half full with water, under a low flame, and added the knotgrass. "Sirius, do you ever actually listen to what anyone says?"

"I'm sorry, love. What was that?"

"Sirius!"

"I'm just kidding. I always listen to you. It's much easier to pay attention to someone with your beautiful face that some fat washed up old teacher. This is why I always pay attention in Transfiguation. Minnie is just so drop-dead gorgeous."

"As much as I love being compared to McGonagall, can we drop the conversation and actually work on the potion here." Apparently, Mia's patience for Sirius's witty banter had run its fuse.

"Sure. What can I do?"

"Well, you can start by squashing those leeches so that we can add them next." Mia was stirring the current contents of the potion counterclockwise very slowly, counting each turn.

"Alrighty, then."

Minutes later, Sirius said, "All done!"

"Already?" Mia asked suspiciously.

Bending down, she saw that Sirius had indeed accomplished his task, quickly and to perfection.

"That was fast. Why are you so good at everything?"

"I'm just awesome." Sirius told her with little enthusiasm, looking slightly off.

"Clearly," Mia looked at him questioningly, "Well, are you going to add them."

"What?"

Sirius had an odd sort of look on his face.

"The leeches."

"Oh, right."

Sirius leaned over to add the mushed up leeches, looking at the already off-putting potion. He added the leeches, and him and Mia watched as the potion began to turn into an unpleasantly lumpy black liquid.

Then, without any warning, Sirius vomited.

**AN:**

Oh. My. Gosh. For those of you who are still reading this story, I apologize for the far to long update. And thank you for waiting patiently.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a Review. They literally mean so much to me.

Also, I don't care if there isn't any Cocoa Puff in England. There is at Hogwarts. It's magic. 3

Lots of Love

I'm otter,

noelleB


	6. A Fluffy White Ensemble

Giggles. Giggles. Giggles.

That was what Megara Rivera heard as she and her fellow Gryffindors walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

More Giggles.

For once, these giggles were not those of Sirius Black, but those of Claribel Collins and Shanti Sunrita, who had found their Double Potions period of the morning extremely hilarious.

Even More Giggles. This time they were joined by a couple of deeper sources of laughter.

Meg had very little patience for giggling, or gigglers for that matter, but she made a small exception for her best friends. After all, she had to admit to herself that the first period of the day had indeed been eventful.

Sirius had been completely obnoxious this morning, to the point of annoyance for everyone, not just the sleep deprived, raccoon-eyed Meg. Bounding around on some chocolate high, he had been partnered with Mia, who had sprinted into class late. If Mia was unhappy about her partner to begin with, that was nothing to how she felt now.

"Did you see her face?"

"I _knew_ he was going to barf halfway through the first class."

"She looked sooo pissed."

"I told you, didn't I?"

"You'd be pissed too if someone puked in your new Manolos."

"I told you that Sirius couldn't keep his chocolate down."

"What the _hell_ are Manolos?"

"Shoes."

"Really fucking expensive shoes, that's what they are."

"Language!"

"Sorry, Miss Evans. I'll try to keep a cleaner mouth while in the presence of your headship."

Meg rolled her eyes at her friends banter, and the six Griffindors entered the Great Hall.

The ceiling was now a pale blue, and Meg observed that, like the weather outside, the collective mood in the Great Hall had improved enormously since the gray drizzle of the morning.

Settling in at the far end of the Gryffindor table, the group continued to revel in the comical potions class of the morning.

"I wonder when Sirius will be let out of the hospital wing?" Lily speculated.

"Oh, he'll be let out within the hour." James answered confidently.

"Listen to James, Lily. Out of everyone in our year, he has spent the most time in the hospital wing." Remus said as he reached for some baked chicken.

"When you play Quidditch as hard as I do, injuries are bound to happen." James explained, jokingly boastful.

Shanti snorted. "Oh please. You know as well as we do, James, that your Quidditch injuries only amount to about half of your hospital wing visits."

"That is not true! I can only think of one time where–" James was cut off abruptly.

"Remember that time in fifth year when you went crashing through the window in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Shanti asked him, as she reached to grab a dinner roll.

"Not my fault. Sirius was a dueling disaster."

"Then there was the time when we were third years when you got caught in the trip step and ended up falling three floors." Remus supplied.

"Again, not my fault! Sirius pushed me down the second two."

"Oh! Remember that time last year after the Hogsmeade trip when you went running back to the castle puking your guts out," Claribel reminisced with a smile.

"I swear! Sirius spiked my food at The Three Broomsticks! He was jealous that the new barmaid was talking more to me than to him."

Meg rolled her eyes at this.

Remus smirked.

Lily rolled her eyes.

Claribel simply smiled placating.

Shanti snorted again.

"Stop doing that!" James said, aghast.

"Stop doing what?"

A new arrival appeared next to James. It was a rather pudgy boy. This boy was also wearing robes of red and gold, although they had stretched a bit since the owner had last worn them, the bottoms a bit tighter. He had dirty brown hair, all of which was matted to his skin, slicked with sweat.

Meg shivered with revulsion. She had never liked him. He always just seemed so damn _creepy_. Always following the boys around. Then following the girls around when the groups began to mesh more in their later years. How this pathetic lump of a creature ever was sorted into Gryffindor Meg would never know. Why did the marauders even befriend him in the first place? He was really nothing like the rest of them: charming, talented, intelligent, witty, and handsome. He possessed none of these qualities, yet all of them seemed to show some _life-loyalty_ towards one another that could _never_ possibly be broken.

Meg, on the other hand, was not so foolishly sentimental. She knew that something that seemed sure and steady could be ripped apart in a single moment, tarnished forever. She knew that there was no such thing as "life-long" when it came to bonds with other people. Her friends knew that she felt this way. Well, her girlfriends did. While they didn't always like that she viewed human relationships as temporary and futile, they tried their best to understand and accept her for it. They knew that she wouldn't change unless she wanted to. That was one thing that all the Griffindors seemed to have in common: stubborn, hardheadedness.

Returning her thoughts back to the boy, Meg realized that James was speaking to him.

"Wormtail! I'm not in the hospital wing that often. Am I? For non-Quidditch related reasons, of course."

"Well. You are in there quite a bit." The boy, Wormtail, said looking thoughtful, but hesitating, not wanting to offend.

"See," said Shanti triumphantly, "even Peter thinks so."

"Yeah," said Peter, gaining some sort of weird confidence from Shanti's statement. "I mean, after all, Prongs, you are usually the one to end up in the hospital wing after a Full–" Peter was cut off brusquely by James.

"Hey, you know what? Maybe you guys are right. I am in the hospital too much. It'll be a new goal for the year. See if I can limit it to, maybe three trips or so? That's probably not enough. Five trips? Five trips. That should be good. Five trips to the hospital wing for James this year. Anyone want to bet against me? Any takers?" James looked around wildly, a smile on his face but a look of panic in his eyes.

Peter looked sheepish, snapping his mouth shut. Meg noted hopefully that it looked unlikely that he would speech for the rest of the afternoon.

As for herself, Meg didn't understand James's sudden outburst of a rant at all. Shanti and Claribel looked equally confused. The three of them exchanged glances before looking at Lily. Lily was avoiding eye contact with any of them, choosing instead that this was the proper moment to pay full attention the chicken sandwich on her plate. Looking at Remus, Meg saw that he had stiffened his posture a bit, but it was obvious that he was trying to remain composed.

"Anyone?" James repeated exuberantly.

Lily looked up from her lunch, "I'll take that bet, Potter."

Meg, Shanti, and Claribel looked at one another in further confusion. _Lily_ was taking bets?

"Ah, ye of little faith, Miss Evans?"

"Yup."

"I shall prove you wrong then!" James was clinging to the forced conversation.

"Doubt it."

"Ah, ye of little faith!" James repeated, lacking the ability to foster a new thought, Meg noted.

"Well," Lily said, looking thoughtful, "I'm just looking at your track record here, James, and I find it unlikely that you'll be able to keep yourself to a limited number of hospital trips. Besides, if you're short come near the end of the year, I could always just push you down a couple staircases when we're doing rounds some night."

Completely comfortable in the situation, Lily seemed to calm the tense atmosphere with her rational explanation.

"You wouldn't." James said, already recovering from his previous awkwardness.

"I would." Lily told him, sincerely. "So, how much are we betting then?" Lily leaned forward across the table, uncharacteristically batting her eyelashes subtly at James.

Flabbergasted, James managed to stutter, "Uh, um…100."

"Galleons?" came Claribel's shocked voice as she emerged from her state of confusion.

Lily smiled mischievously, "You're on, Potter."

Then she winked at him.

_Lily winked at James._ If Meg was confused before, it was nothing to how she felt now.

"Was that a _wink_?" Meg heard Shanti whisper to Claribel.

Still smiling flirtatiously, Lily reached her arm across the table towards James, "Shake?"

Mouth wide open, James looked at Lily's hand. He looked unsure as to what to do with it.

"Shaaaake," Lily repeated, drawing the word out while wiggling her fingers.

James slowly took her hand, and Lily pumped them up and down twice.

"Excellent."

Lily smiled cheerfully and went back to her food.

James looked more confused than ever.

"Soooo…" Claribel looked as though she was aching to exit the awkward atmosphere now centered on the Gryffindors.

Shanti joined in, "Soooo."

"Soooo," Remus caroled.

"Um, so…" Claribel faded out. She rested her head in her hand.

Everyone looked down at his or her plates, picking at food that wasn't going to be eaten.

"Excuse me?" a small girl, no older than eleven, asked the group. All turned to her, thankful for the interruption.

The girl looked alarmed at the rapt attention the seventh years were showing here. "Um," she said, avoiding looking at anyone directly, "I'm suppose to give these the Head Boy and Head Girl."

"That's us," Lily said kindly, motioning towards James and her. She alone seemed to have not been affected at all by the strange discussion and resulting awkwardness.

Lily took two rolls of parchment from the girl, who hastened away before she could even hear Lily say, "Thank you!"

Handing one over to James, Lily proceeded to open up her own envelope.

She read, "_Miss Evans, I'm very happy to congratulate you on earning Head Girl. It was very well deserved. I'm hoping that you've had a successful morning back and are ready to embark on an exciting, and busy, new school year. I was hoping to arrange a Head meeting between myself, you, and, of course, Mr. Potter this Friday evening at seven o'clock. Please respond quickly. Sincerely, Professor Albus Dumbledore_."

"A meeting with Dumbledore?" James questioned, rising from his stupor to open his own letter.

"It would appear so."

"Is this a normal thing? For the Headmaster to meet with the two Heads?" Claribel asked them.

"Not that I know of, " Lily answered her as James shrugged. "Most of the time, Dumbledore only intervenes if we'd need special permission for something. Otherwise, I think he likes the students to lead the school."

"That's why we have Prefects and Heads," Remus said, nodding his head as Lily spoke.

"Exactly, the system has been in affect for almost of Hogwarts History."

James fidgeted nervously, "You don't think that this has something to do with, well, either of _us_, do you?"

Shanti laughed, "James, have you committed a crime already–so early into the school year? 'Fraid you're going to lose the badge?" Shanti poked at the badge repeatedly to accent her point.

"No. But, well, there was the party last night." James admitted.

Remus reasoned, "Prongs, don't worry. Dumbledore, and most of the other teachers, like to pretend to be oblivious to most of the wrongdoings of students, as long as no one gets hurt."

"Besides, no one gets in trouble the first day back!" Claribel told him exuberantly.

"What about that time in fifth year when Sirius grabbed the reins of the carriages and we all ended up in the forbidden forest?" Lily asked her.

"Oh, yeah…"

Shanti laughed, "Oh my gosh, I had forgotten all about that. That was hilarious. Who had any idea that actual invisible creatures were guiding the carriages, and not just magic?"

"That was pretty awesome." James declared, glazed look in his eyes.

"More like frightening," Meg said, also remembering the experience. Heading toward the darkest part of the forest, hurtling into nothingness at breakneck speed was not something that she ever intended on repeating.

"Back to the letter," said Lily, "I really don't know what it could be about. If Dumbledore was going to be a stickler for the rules, I doubt that he would have picked a marauder for Head Boy."

James sighed, relieved.

Lily looked pensive, "Thinking about it logically though, this must be something important for Dumbledore to be meeting with us himself."

James stiffened in his seat again.

"James, you look a little anxious," Claribel observed as she started to gather her books for the afternoon classes. Indeed, James had a frown on his face, some deep- set wrinkles on his forehead, and his posture was that of a fourteenth-century monk.

"Me?" James asked. "Anxious? No. Never."

"You sure?" Claribel continued.

"Absolutely."

James ran his hand though his hair.

"Yup, he's definitely anxious." Lily confirmed, who was also watching James closely.

"James, if you're really having problems with stress, I can give you the names of some good therapists." Meg told him.

"Hey! I don't need to see a shrink! Okay?" James answered her defiantly.

"There's nothing wrong with admitting that you need help, mate." Remus said calmly. "Sometimes talking is the best way to get it all out."

"But why on earth would I want to spill my guts to some random stranger?" James asked.

"So we don't have to listen to you."

"Moony!"

"Kidding, Prongs. Settle down."

As Meg listened to the guys, she silently agreed with James. She had her fair share of experiences talking with "shrinks". The more accurate statement would be "trying" to talk with psychologists. Her mother had been very keen on them after everything that happened in her fifth year at Hogwarts. Meg felt like this was her mother's attempt to avoid having Meg actually talk to her about anything rather than her mother truly wanting to help. The whole thing was stupid and had been entirely pointless in her opinion. Meg had told three successive "doctors" that nothing was wrong with her, and she gave them no further information about herself for them to dissect her any further. It had been a complete waste of her mother's money, so Meg could at least get some enjoyment out of that fact. Lord knows her mother had enough money to keep a third-world country afloat.

"Can we stop talking about my stress levels, my psyche, and my many trips to the hospital wing and just go to class already?" James said, irritated.

"Maybe his injuries are self-inflicted!" Shane declared.

Following Shanti's lead, Lily said, "James, hurting yourself to feel that you are in control is not the answer."

"Hey! I earn all my injuries fair-and-square." James defended.

"Not the best time to use that expression, mate," Remus informed James, grinning, "but I believe we get your point."

Very annoyed with his friends, James said, "I wish Sirius was here. He would never pick on me."

All of them laughed.

"WHAT!"

Lily, still giggling, said, "James, first of all, that sounds so ridiculous. Second, Sirius digs on you more than any of us. Third, you just want him here so we all can tease _him_ instead of you. And finally," Lily paused, increasing her volume, "you're going to have to work very hard on _not _saying things like this if you're trying to rid people's impressions on your_ friendship_ with Sirius."

James went red with indignation.

He looked at the group, most of who were still laughing, and turned to stomp out of the Great Hall.

This caused all of the Gryffindors to laugh even more at his retreating back.

"When do you think he'll realize that he forgot his book bag?" Remus asked with a sly grin.

Suddenly, James came marching back to the table. Without saying a word to anyone, he grabbed his bag and strode right back out of the room.

They all laughed again, even Meg, who had to cover her mouth to hide any weird sounds from escaping her. She absolutely _loathed_ her laugh. He mother told her when she was nearly four that her laugh was ghastly and disgusting, two words a four-year-old should never know, but when you're the child of Maleficient Rivera, these words are as common as "dolly" and "naptime" are to the average toddler.

Returning to present day, Meg gathered her things for Transfiguration as her classmates did the same.

As they exited the Great Hall, Shanti repeated for them, "I still say that boy needs to seek some serious help."

As Mia stepped out of the shower, she inhaled deeply, letting the fresh fragrances inundate her lungs. Lavender and orange freesia dominated any other possible odors that may have been trying to permeate the room. Grabbing her towel, Mia dried herself while wringing out her hair. She had never felt so beautifully clean.

She had also never felt so…dry. Her skin was very wrinkled, Mia observed, looking at her fingers.

"Lotion," she muttered, looking around for her own supply, but finding nothing. She saw what she thought to be Lily's strawberry kiwi smelling lotion, but she decided that it would be best not to use it. Lily was strangely possessive of bathroom products.

Hopping across the slick floor, Mia meandered her way into the girls' seventh-year dormitory.

Mia immediately began to move toward her own four-poster bed when she discovered that she was not alone in the room.

"Epee!" she shrieked, almost dropping her towel. Then grabbing onto it as if it was her lifeline.

There was a boy lying across her bed.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?"

Sirius made a face, "Really, love, why the middle name?"

"Because you're a bloody fuckwit! That's why!" Mia screeched at him.

"Calm down. It's not like I came in here expecting you to be half-stalkers." Sirius grinned in amusement as Mia attempted to conceal herself in Claribel's curtains. He stretched out his arms before crossing them to rest behind his head. With his feet resting comfortably on Mia's pillow, he looked the picture of contentment. He did _not _look like someone who had rained sick all over the potions classroom this morning. Mia assessed that he looked _happy_ and _healthy_: two things that he did not deserve to be. Furthermore, in Mia's opinion, he looked to be enjoying this situation far more than he should.

Enraged by his seemingly oblivious attitude, Mia picked up a shoe on the floor and threw it at Sirius. "I was in the shower!"

Sirius, who had caught the shoe with ease, looked confused. "For…three hours?"

"YES! If you can recall, someone decided to douse me in _vomit_ this morning!"

Sirius looked sheepish.

"What? Got nothing to say to that?" Mia's anger was reaching a boiling point.

Flipping his legs off her bed, Sirius turned to face Mia. His teeth tugged on his upper lip.

"Sorry," he said. It was barely a whisper.

He cast he eyes down in shame before meeting hers. He looked the picture of remorse.

"Oh, no you don't! Don't go thinking that just because you pout that puppy-dog face of yours and look at me like that that I'm just going to automatically forgive your chocolate-eating ass." Although her words were harsh, Mia could feel her anger ebbing away.

"I'm sorry, Mia." The poor boy sounded like a wounded animal.

Mia sighed. She never could hold a grudge for long.

"Alright, fine. I forgive you," she added for good measure, "you idiot."

Sirius's face transformed. His grey eyes lit up as he smiled, genuinely smiled, at Mia.

Mia couldn't help but smile back.

In a darting movement, Sirius was across the room and had picked Mia up in a hug. Mia, who was caught by surprise, gasped before giggling a bit. They both chuckled as Sirius rapidly spun them around in a circle. Then, Mia remembered that the only thing between her body and a seventeen year-old boy was a towel. This piece of fabric had never seemed so thin. She cleared her throat. Sirius, seeming to realize what he was doing, put her down lightly. He took a couple of steps away from her and leaned casually against the bedpost of Claribel's four-poster. His sparkly grey eyes were filled with mischief and…something else, Mia thought as she mirrored him, leaning against the bedpost opposite.

"You're still stupid as fuck for eating chocolate for breakfast." She told him, hoping to distract him from her blush, which she could feel rising up in her cheeks.

"Yeah. No more Cocoa Puffs for breakfast," Sirius said morosely.

Mia rolled her eyes, which were looking pointedly at the ground, as she adjusted her towel. "I think you'll survive. With some good-therapy, anything's possible."

"It's going to be tough. I'll need all the support I can get."

"We're all here for you, especially during your time of need."

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

Although their conversation had whittled into sarcasm, Sirius was still looking at Mia with that weird look in his eyes. Wanting him to stop doing that, Mia asked, "So, didn't you have a reason why you decided to invade our inner girly sanctum? Wait a second," Mia interrupted herself before Sirius even had time to open his mouth. "How the hell did you get in here?"

Rather than being angered, as she knew Lily would have been in the situation, Mia was truly curious as to how Sirius had managed to avoid the sliding staircase that had stumped all previous Gryffindor boys from entering the girls' dormitories.

"Aw," said Sirius slowly, "well, that is for me to know…and you to not."

Mia's jaw dropped.

"Muwhahahaha," Sirius laughed evilly twiddling his fingertips together.

"You're being awfully cruel to someone that you puked on earlier today." Mia told him, pouting. She couldn't _believe_ that he'd actually figured it out.

"Ah, ah, ah, I'm already forgiven for that. Remember? You were there? Just three minutes ago? Anyways, I came in here because I wanted to know if you were going to go to afternoon lessons, but, seeing as it's now almost three, I somehow doubt that will happen."

Mia shook her head. For six years, the Marauder's had been trying to get up into the girls' dormitories with no success. Then today, Sirius _suddenly_ knows how to do it…

"So, when did you figure it out?" she asked him.

"Excuse me?"

"When did you lot figure out how to get up here? I'm assuming that you've been privy to this knowledge for quite some time now."

Sirius refused to meet her eyes.

"Sirius," she said reproachfully.

Sirius sighed. "Last year. James and I went for a fly after the Quidditch final and found out that we could just fly right through the window. We've actually never been up here since."

Mia narrowed her eyes accusingly, not believing this last statement.

"I swear!" Sirius defended himself.

"So all you have to do is fly up here?" Mia was astonished by this complete lax in security. All they had to do was _fly?_ The school was freaking _magical_, someone should have thought of this.

"Yup," Sirius said, "I was surprised we'd never thought of it before. I suppose we'd just think that would be too easy, you know?"

Mia huffed. She was not at all happy by the new possibilities presented with the boys' new ability to enter into their dormitory.

"Oh, calm down, love," Sirius said, interpreting her mood correctly. "I promise to only use my powers for good…and to," Sirius paused. Sirius's eyes traveled from Mia's still wet, and freezing feet, up her body to her dripping hair. "Knock before entering," he finished.

Mia gave him a good shove.

"Out!" She ordered, pointing at the door.

Sirius obeyed, shouting as he exited, "Although I must admit, you look stunning in that fluffy white ensemble. You should wear it more often."

**AN:** I am so bad. It has been forever since an update. Oh well, life passes by fast. I know. I'm Deep. Right?

Well, hope you enjoyed chapter 6! Got to learn a little more about Meg! What do you guys think of her? Also, I hope I didn't offend anyone with all the "shrink" talk because I have nothing against "Admitting you need help" as the chapter title will suggest. There're several things developing in this chapter! What did everyone pick up on?

LEAVE A REVIEW! NOW!

"please" (she says wearing Sirius's puppy dog face)

I'm otter,

noelle


	7. It's Friday Night and Q&As

"_What time is it?"_ groaned a voice from behind the couch in the Gryffindor common room.

The room was uncommonly bare for a Friday night. A few first years were playing exploding snap in the corner, several fourth years were laying by the fire having returned sopping wet from a particularly interesting Care of Magical Creatures lesson, two second years were concentrating on a never-ending game of wizards' chess, and occupying the largest amount of space in the room were the group of seventh year Gryffindors.

Sirius Black had sprawled himself across the most comfortable couch in the common room two hours ago, declaring, "Mine!" and hadn't moved since. Unfortunately for Sirius, James and Mia had deemed him unfit to lay across the couch alone and jumped onto him roughly an hour later. The three of them were currently sprayed across the couch in a mess of limbs, pillows, and hair.

On the side opposite them, Lily and Claribel were curled up in two identical armchairs, and Remus sat at the nearest desk working on an Astronomy assignment. "It's half-past six," he answered, and the person behind the couch moaned.

"No way! It has to be later than that. It's eleven o'clock. Tell me it's eleven o'clock. Shit, tell me that it's nine o'clock. There is no proper excuse for being this exhausted earlier than nine on a Friday night!"

A loud clunk was heard from the left side of the couch. "Shit," the voice swore.

"Hey, watch it," mumbled Mia as the couch shook slightly.

Shanti Sunrita peeked over the couch, rubbing the back of her head, to glare at the brunette head, which had already sunk itself deeper into the shoulder of Sirius Black and could now only be seen as a tangled mass of hair.

Surveying the room, she groaned again.

"What now?" came the muffled voice of Claribel Collins as she turned her body to face Shanti? Her head was resting on one arm of the chair she occupied while her legs were pushed up over the other.

"Remus!"

"What's wrong with Moony?" slurred James, eyes still closed.

"He's doing homework!" Shanti's voice escalated, "HOMEWORK!" With great effort, she managed to pull her body up off the floor, using Remus's desk chair for help. Remus didn't even turn around to face her. He just wrote more frantically as though whatever though he just had might slip out of his mind. "HOMEWORK!" Shanti shouted again, waving her arms around madly.

"That's what Moony does," James's voice was almost inaudible as his face was squished against a pillow, "When assigned homework, do homework."

"But it's FRIDAY NIGHT!" Shanti's eyes were bulging frantically.

Ignoring the crazed brown-eyed girl, James snuggled further into the couch cushion he had managed to steal from Sirius. This week had been particularly taxing for the Gryffindor seventh years. Every single teacher seemed to have decided to bump up their curriculum to include more assignments, more reading, and more spell practice. Transfiguration had been particularly difficult, James had thought and that was his best class. He had nearly fainted in Herbology when Professor Sprout brought out the new plants that they were working on, plants that seemed far too perilous to be playing near to so much as playing with. Even Flitwick had added to their coursework with a six-foot charms essay that James was sure would take him all day tomorrow to complete.

As James let his mind run through the vast number of assignments he needed to complete before Monday, he also thought about "The Speech" that every single Hogwarts teacher seemed to have memorized to give to the seventh-year students before each class… _"This is a very important year in your education…perhaps the Most important…after this year each of you will embark upon a journey outside the safety of school…where missing assignments won't be forgiven, unknown spell work will result in practice session, and misbehaving will not result in detention…you must fully utilize this year in school to help as you prepare to leave…study…learn…_"

Blah. Blah. Blah. It seemed to go on and on even in his head, as James tried to shake out McGonagall's voice from his head, but it just continued as Flitwick's…then Sprout's…on and on and on… "_Your N.E.W.T. results will determine which career paths you will be able to take. Some of you will find so many options that it will be impossible for you to decide where to go. Other will find themselves will no options at all."_

James twitched as he tried to rid himself of the anxiety that seemed to be building in his chest for the past week. He still had a full year, right? That was plenty of time. Hopefully some Professional Quidditch team would pick him up…if not…well…there was always the Ministry. He detested most of the Ministry's departments, having visited several time with his parents. They were all so…sooo…well, the word corrupt comes to mind, James thought, picturing that awful toad looking woman in pink. He just hated the though of working some desk job cooped up in some corner of the Ministry. That would be horrific. On the other hand, if he could get the best marks, the Aurora Department would be he choice place to work. The problem was, they only took a few new Aurors in for training. You had to be prime.

Both his parents had done it. Surely, he could too. Genetics should kick in somewhere. His father had been encouraging him to work extra hard this year, so that he'd have the marks he'd need if he chose to become an Auror. He'd even hinted that they might need more in the coming year. There was a new Head of the Department —some bloke named Moody, who had shouted at James "Constant Vigilance!" when he nearly walked into him when bringing his parents supper one night over summer holiday. Maybe Quidditch was the better option…

James was torn out from his reveries when Shanti cried out dramatically.

"It's not fair. Even the _firsties_ are having a better time then us!" she wailed as she fell onto her knees, grabbing her head in both her hands.

When no one reacted to her, she pounded her fists on the ground.

"It's _Friday Night_ people! We should be doing something! Something fun! Something dangerous! Something that will at least entertain me for a couple of hours!"

She gave a sweeping glare around the room. Still no one reacted to her.

Dragging her hands through her hair, she repeated, "It's Friday Night people! FRIDAY NIGHT!"

Throwing her hands up in the hair, she collapsed dramatically onto the plush red rug and closed her eyes in defeat.

_It's Friday Night._ James thought to himself. _Friday Night. _ What was so important about Friday Night? There was something. He knew it. He just couldn't seem to remember… _Friday Night…Friday Night…_

"Friday Night," he mumbled and suddenly it came to him.

"It's Friday Night!" he declared in a panic as he jumped to his feet.

Remus sighed, closing his Transfiguration textbook, "Yes, Prongs, as Shanti sang just twenty seconds ago, it is indeed Friday Night." James noted that Remus had bags under his eyes and was quite pale. He mentally counted the days until the next Full Moon. Was it sometime next week? Already?

Pushing his worries for his friend aside, James said, "No, it's Friday Night! Lily and I have our meeting with Dumbledore! What time is it?"

Remus' eyes widened in remembrance, looking at his watch, he said, "It's nearly seven, mate. You guys better go."

James hastened over to the armchair where Lily was curled up catlike, apparently sleeping.

"Lily," he said softly, shaking her gently. He got no response.

"Lily!" he repeated more loudly, "Come on, Lils. Wake up! We need to get going!"

Lily twitched.

"LILY!" he shouted forcefully.

"Five more minutes, mum," Lily mumbled, digging her head further into the chair.

James looked at Remus.

Remus held up his hand defensively, "Don't look at me. I've never had to wake her up."

James stood still for two seconds. Then smiled.

He leaned in close to Lily. "Lady Lilyflower," he drawled out, "if you don't get up, I'm going to have to kiss you awake."

Lily sprung from her chair, hitting James on the chin as she flung her arms out.

"Ouch, that hurt." James muttered, rubbing his jaw.

"You stay away from me Potter!" Lily hissed at him, pointing her finger accusingly.

James sighed, "As much as I would like to spend this time being personally offended and acting out the resulting argument, I did wake you up with a purpose. Our meeting with Dumbledore is in five minutes."

"Four minutes," Remus interjected as he sat down in James' spot on the couch.

"Four minutes!" James shouted.

"Meeting with Dumbledore?" Lily stood there quite still.

"Yes! Meeting with Dumbledore! In four minutes!" James began to push Lily towards the portrait hole, saying "Come on! Come on! Come on!" He grabbed her hand, tugging.

At James's touch, Lily seemed to slip out of a trance. "Oh my gosh, the meeting!" she cried.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," James said as the two of them crashed out the portrait hole, the Fat Lady yelling as they sprinted down the hall, "Where's the fire!"

"We are going to be so late," Lily said worriedly as they ran down staircase after staircase.

"No we're not," James told her determinedly. Suddenly, he yanked on Lily's hand, which he had never stopped holding, pulling her into a passageway that would lead them much closer to Dumbledore's office.

"Where are we—?"

"No time for explanation." James said as he dragged Lily on through the narrow passageway, erupting only a floor down from Dumbledore's office. Pulling Lily along with him, James sprinted up the remaining stairs reaching the stone gargoyle entrance and spitted out, "Chocolate Frogs!"

As staircase slowly began to move, Lily looked amazed, and James yanked her onto the first step.

"How did you—?"

Lily again failed to finish her sentence as they reached a door James pounded on the door.

"Enter," came the calm voice.

Lily, breathing rapidly, and James, clutching a stitch in his side, entered the room.

It looked just as it had the last time he'd been here, James remarked: whirling silver instruments on the right side, Dumbledore's desk in the center, and Fawkes the Phoenix's perch next to it.

"Ah," said Dumbledore, rising to his feet, "our two Heads, right on time."

Lily attempted to quiet her heavy breathing, and James stood up straight.

As Dumbledore swept across to the front of his desk, he said, "Well, don't just stand there. Come have a seat. I must say—the two of you look positively exhausted." Dumbledore smiled at them, knowingly. James saw Dumbledore glance at his hand, which was still connected to Lily's. Dumbledore's eyes seemed twinkle as he met James' glance. James quickly let go of Lily's hand.

Seeming to notice the lack of pressure on it, Lily looked at her hand. She blushed slightly, shaking her head and looking at the ground.

James turned his attention back to Dumbledore, who was still smiling, "I trust that the both of you had a good first week of term?"

"Yes, sir," James replied.

"Busy?" he questioned, looking at Lily.

"Very," Lily said, regaining her composure to return Dumbledore's smile.

"I would assume so, we only except teachers at Hogwarts who vow to give seventh year students an intensely difficult final year. This way, they never wish to return." He winked at James.

James grinned, laughing. He had never entirely understood Dumbledore's strange sense of humor, but it definitely grows on you. "Sir, I think that it would be very difficult for you to persuade me to leave Hogwarts," he told the professor.

"Ah, me as well Mr. Potter," Dumbledore sighed, gesturing around the room. "As you can see, it has been nearly impossible for this old student to leave the school."

"Teaching probably wouldn't be the best line of work for me, sir."

"Indeed," Dumbledore put a finger to his lips, "perhaps you are right."

"Hey!" said James, offended.

Lily laughed at the exchange, and Dumbledore smiled again. "Let us sit," Dumbledore said, using Lily and James into the room.

"Now that the jokes have passed, it is time to get serious," Dumbledore said as Lily and James sat down.

"Well, I supposed I can go get him," Lily said, acting to get up off her chair, "but I thought that this was only a Head's meeting?"

James laughed, "We might be hard pressed to wake him though," he said, playing along. Well, if Lily was making jokes, he decided that this would indeed be a good meeting.

"I should have expected that one," said Dumbledore, as he too took a seat, though across the desk.

James snuck a glance at Lily, trying to communicate with her. _What do you think that this is about?_ His eyes questioned her.

Lily, understanding, shrugged, but smiled at James in what seemed to be a reassuring manner. Then she turned to face Dumbledore, and James followed her lead.

"Well," Dumbledore began, "I'm sure that the both of you have been curious as to what we would be discussing in this meeting?"

Lily answered for the two of them, "Well," she paused, "yes, sir. I didn't think that this was really a customary thing to do. Is it?"

"No." Dumbledore answered simply. "I'm afraid that I don't often arrange meetings with the Heads, but I had some—for lack of a better word—matters that I wished to discussed with the two of you."

James glanced at Lily from the corner of eye to see that she was doing the same. She was clearly wondering some of the same things that he was. James had some ideas what this could be about, but he really felt no need to voice them until Dumbledore confirmed them. He then asked, "What exactly did you to want to discuss, Professor? Is it something to do with school?"

"Ah, a question that is getting harder to answer, Mr. Potter. I'm afraid that the answer is yes…but no. This is not to do with classes, house points, or Quidditch teams. On the other hand, this does affect the school in its entirety," Dumbledore sighed gravely. "I fear that the tensions that plague our world currently will spill into the school soon, no matter what steps I take to prevent it."

Lily looked confused and worried, but James thought he knew what Dumbledore was hinting at, though he was unsure what he wanted _them_ to do about it.

"Sir," he said, "this has something to do with Voldemort. Doesn't it?"

When he said the name, Lily's eyes widened in recognition.

Dumbledore nodded and answered James, "It has everything to with Voldemort, Mr. Potter, yet it also has nothing to do with him."

James was sure he looked very confused. Why did Dumbledore have to speak so cryptically? Always so melodramatic.

"Professor," Lily said, "what exactly does this have to do with James and I? I mean, what are you asking us to do?"

Dumbledore smiled meekly, "That, Miss Evans, is the question: What can you do?" Dumbledore paused, surveying the two of them with his twinkling blue eyes covered behind the famous spectacles. James never liked when Dumbledore did this. It made him feel like…like he was being… z-rayed or y-rayed or something like that. He'd ask Lily what the damn Muggle device was called later.

Dumbledore continued, "This is why I called us here today. To answer the question: What can the students of Hogwarts do as the Wizarding World faces a war that is doomed to envelope us all?"

"A war, Professor?" Lily sounded shocked, and under that, uncharacteristically scared, James noticed. He itched to be holding her hand again.

"Yes, Miss Evans, a war," Dumbledore said grimly, "a war that I fear will soon not only destroy parts of this wonderful existence we've led all these years but will also invade the school we've maintained for over one-thousand years. It was not by chance that I selected two students from the same House this year to represent the school as Head Boy and Girl. It was not by chance that I chose these two students not merely on academia, which on both accounts are still exemplary, but also because these two students would be the two most likely students have the most effect in uniting the students of Hogwarts."

_Uniting the students of Hogwarts?_ James thought. What on earth does he mean by that? Did Dumbledore want them to be all buddy-buddy with the Slytherins, or something? He'd be lucky if he could get a single Slytherin to say that they didn't _really_ hate him _that much_ so much as actually befriend one.

Dumbledore continued on, "This is more than an issue of House rivalry. That has always existed, and I suspect that some remnant of it always will. This is about bringing together those that can and will join in a movement against that of Lord Voldemort and his followers. It is also about trying to defer those that seem to be on the inevitable course of joining Voldemort. And more than anything, it is about making sure that this darkness that seeps into our school causes no innocent student harm."

When Dumbledore paused in his speech, Lily asked him again, "But sir, what do you want us to do?"

"This is not a question of what I want you to do, Miss Evans," Dumbledore answered her. "The better question is—What do _you_ want to do?"

"Anything," James answered immediately, "I'll do anything to help." He glanced at Lily, who nodded at him feverishly. "_We'll_ do anything to help."

Dumbledore smiled, "While I am happy hear that, Mr. Potter, I am sorry to have to ask far too much of you both."

"Hardly, sir," Lily told him. "It is our responsibility as Heads to help keep the school running smoothly."

"Ah, but Miss Evans, I have not yet finished in my asking you for your assistance." Dumbledore sighed again, getting up from his desk. He looked out the window next to his desk for several long seconds. James felt Lily's questioning eyes on him, but he kept his own trained to the elder wizard.

James has never really thought of it before, but Dumbledore was really getting up there in years. How old was he now? He was over a hundred, according to his parents. Looking at Dumbledore now, it was impossible not to notice the frailty in his hands or the aged look in his eyes. James had never imagined the though of Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the age, as old or…he hated even thinking it…weak. Of course, age was of less importance in the Wizarding world. The advantage of battling with magical ability versus physical strength was that your "power" didn't weaken with time—often times, you even got stronger. As James looked at Dumbledore, he felt he was for once seeing that Dumbledore was not just the fun, carefree Headmaster of Hogwarts with the twinkle in his eye, but he was also an aged man who had seen much of the darkness that existed in this world.

Studying him further, James decided that Dumbledore looked as if he were deciding something in that massive brain of his. His brow was crinkled, his eyes knitted closer together than usual. Suddenly, the Headmaster's face changed. He looked determined, resolute. He had made his decision.

Turning around, Dumbledore addressed the two Heads, "What I am about to ask you goes far beyond that of Headmaster to student. I wish that both of you would thinking very hard about your answer—to which you have every right to say no. It might very well be wise to answer no. However, I like to think that I know my students, and I think that each of you will at first be inclined to answer yes; therefore, I am insisting that you do not give me an answer until we meet again."

Dumbledore had moved so that he was directly in front of James and Lily, who were both giving him their undivided attention.

Taking a great breathe, Dumbledore began, "During the past few years, I have been slowly been creating an organization fro the purpose of resisting Lord Voldemort and his followers. It has been a rather slow and arduous process, one that I had hoped would be completely unnecessary, but I fear that it will be vital if we ever wish to see the end of Lord Voldemort rein of cruelty. It is important to mention that this league is completely outside the Ministry. Of course, that is not to say that there shall never be involvement with the Ministry, or that anyone in the Ministry shall be allowed in. In fact, it would be foolish not to have members within the Ministry, for Lord Voldemort is sure to have his. I just believe it wise that we do not ignore the potential risk all of Voldemort's opposition falling at the same moment."

"But, Professor Dumbledore," James couldn't help but interrupt, "the Ministry's not in danger of falling to Voldemort. Is it? I mean it seems to be standing strong. Nothing has been so bad that the Ministry hasn't been able to handle it."

"No, Mr. Potter. I do not believe that the Ministry is currently in any danger of collapse. But it is impossible to say that it _never_ will. I find it best if we don't put all hope of defeating Voldemort in one group. To use a popular Muggle phrase: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Yes, I believe it is best to stay a separate entity away from the Ministry." Dumbledore's eyes searched James, "I can understand if you are hesitant, Mr. Potter. Your parents are employed at the Ministry. It's very understandable if you hold some sort of loyalty there."

"I don't!" James said quickly but then feeling like he needed to explain himself, "What I meant is—I'm not some Ministry lapdog. My parents do their job because they believe what they do is important and not because some Head at the Ministry tells them to. They don't work for Ministry prestige or anything like that. I'm actually pretty sure they hate the… the…elaborate and… official side to everything the Ministry stamps onto whatever they get involved with." James took a deep breathe, "In fact, you should really ask them to be apart of your organization. I'm sure they'd say yes."

Dumbledore smiled at James, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm sure they would say yes, Mr. Potter. I fear though, that while your parents, and the other Aurors whom I already have contacted, have experience and would be dedicated to the group, they would also lack the time to really participate. It's time to look towards the next generation."

"Us." Lily stated simply.

"Yes, Miss Evans. You," Dumbledore said. He walked around his desk to stand behind it again. Gripping the back of the chair, he began. "I believe the events of this coming year will be essential to the fight against Lord Voldemort. He will surely try to recruit as many newly instated wizards as possible, believing that young wizards will be easily persuaded, foolish, and have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Lord Voldemort prays on the weak and vulnerable, which is how many students feel upon exiting Hogwarts. Many long for a leader, someone to point him or her in the right direction—in any direction. Voldemort fills this role."

Pausing, Dumbledore sat down in his chair. "It may seem early in the school year to be worrying about such things, but it seems unlikely to me that Lord Voldemort will wait for the educational year to be up before he reachs out to potential followers. We must do the same."

When Dumbledore stopped to take a breath, James felt that he could practically hear his heart beating. All this stuff about a war—Voldemort, followers, leaving Hogwarts—everything was changing. And from the sounds of it, it didn't sound very good.

Dumbledor continued on, "I believe that somehow young wizards will decide who wins this war. Lord Voldemort always underestimates youth, even those that he himself employs! Now, to the question that is the reason for this meeting. Remember, I insist that you think about you answer very carefully. I will not require it for quite some time."

Dumbledore was looking at them so intently that James felt the old man was trying to read his mind, which, he had to remind himself, he probably was. Dumbledore probably wasn't getting much from him though at the moment. His mind had never felt so jumbled. He looked at Lily, who was matching Dumbledore's gaze with an intent on of her own.

Dumbledore rested his elbows on his desk, bringing his hands under his chin, "Would the either one of you be interested in joining us in the fight against Voldemort?"

"Yes," Lily answered immediately.

"Miss Evans, I implore you to think hard about this decision."

"I have, Professor," Lily said defiantly. Sitting there, her back straight, her eyes wide open, her mouth set in a firm line—she had never looked more earnest in answering a teacher's question. "I've made my decision. I've read about the platforms Voldemort stands on, the most important of which is the so-called purity of blood. I'm Muggleborn, Professor, and proud of it, but who is going to be in the most danger if Voldemort gains strength. Me. What options does that give me? Run? Hide? I could never run away from this world that I've grown to love. It's where I belong. I need to fight this. You can ask me to think about this, Professor Dumbledore, but there's no other choice for me to make."

When Lily suddenly stopped talking, James noticed that his mouth was hanging open. Closing it quickly, he shook his head. There was just so much to think about. His mind was filled with thoughts of dark wizards, students being recruited by Voldemort, him fighting in a war…Lily fighting in a war. She sounded so sure in that decision. As for him…he didn't know what to think. All he knew is that all he really wanted to do right now was get some potion for headache from the infirmary.

James turned as Dumbledore spoke again, "You sound very sure of yourself, Miss Evans, which I trust you are, but I shall not accept any answer until we meet again. It may only be weeks, or it may be several months. I encourage both of you to think about what your answer might mean to your future—your future careers, families—how it might affect your life. Then, when you have though of every minute detail, come to me with your final answer."

Lily looked to James as if she wanted to protest, but she said nothing.

"Dangerous times lie ahead. In such times we must keep those whom we trust close. Trust in your friends what I have shared with you tonight and ask them the question in turn."

"Now," Dumbledore stood, "I believe it best if we part for this evening. I have given you both much to think about."

_No kidding._ James thought meekly. His brain was such a mush that if he were asked at this moment what his name was he'd probably fail to supply the correct answer.

"James," Lily was looking at him.

_Oh, yeah. That was his name._

Lily gave him a look.

_What did he do now?_

"You ready to leave?" Lily spoke slowly.

She was standing, slowly walking toward the door.

"Oh." James said. "Yes. Let's go." He really needed to get out of this room. He felt as though his IQ were dropping by the second. Lily looked as though she agreed with this assessment.

James quickly jumped up from his chair and caught up with Lily, who had reached the door that would lead to the spiral staircase that would get him out of this blasted office.

Lily opened the door. Suddenly, she paused, causing James to almost run into her.

"Sir," she said as opening the door to exit, "What is this organization of yours called? You never said."

"Ah, it is called, Miss Evans, the Order of the Phoenix."

Lily nodded and moved to go down the stairs.

James, however, stopped and looked at the gold and red bird sleeping quietly on its perch… _The Order of the_ _Phoenix…_

He closed the door silently on his way out.


End file.
